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British Steel proposes closure of Scunthorpe coke ovens, with loss of up to 260 jobs
Newsflash: British Steel is proposing to close the coke ovens at its plant in Scunthorpe, with the loss of up to 260 jobs, the company has announced.
This confirms the fears voiced by unions this morning, that the company was planning to cut hundreds of jobs and shutter its coking ovens, which produce the fuel to power its blast furnaces.
The company’s owner, China’s Jingye Group, says the move is partly “to overcome global economic challenges,” and also due to rising costs (such as energy bills).
Jingye says in a statememt:
“Decisive action is required because of the unprecedented rise in operating costs, surging inflation and the need to improve environmental performance.
Key events
London Underground drivers to strike on March 15
London Underground drivers are to strike on March 15 – Budget Day – in a dispute over pensions and working arrangements.
The Aslef union has announced that members will strike for 24 hours, in a dispute over changes to working arrangements and pensions.
ASLEF members in other roles on the Underground – including Test Train and Engineering train drivers and those in management grades – also voted in favour to strike, the union says, and will take action on the 15th March as well.
Tube train drivers voted by 99% in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 77%.
Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s full-time organiser on the Underground, warns that there will be a ‘protracted dispute’ unless Transport for London works with the union.
‘The size of these “Yes” votes, and the large turnouts, show that our members are not prepared to put up any longer with the threats to their working conditions and pensions. We understand that TfL faces financial challenges, post-pandemic, but our members are simply not prepared to pay the price for the government’s failure to properly fund London’s public transport system.
‘Cuts to safety training have already been forced through and management is open that they plan to remove all current working agreements under the guise of “modernisation” and “flexibility” and to replace the agreed attendance and discipline policies. Proposals to slash pension benefits are due to be announced in the next week.
‘We are always prepared to discuss and negotiate on changes, but our members want an unequivocal commitment from TfL that management will not continue to force through detrimental changes without agreement.
‘Unless they are prepared to work with us, and accept that changes have to come by agreement, and bring real benefits to staff, rather than just cuts and cost savings, this will be only the first day of action in a protracted dispute.’
BREAKING: Tube drivers on London Underground to strike on March 15, Aslef union announces.
– Network expected to close.
– Day before major Network Rail walkout on March 16 which will also impact some Tube services #rail #aslef #railstrike
— Ben Clatworthy (@benclatworthy) February 22, 2023
Speaking to PA Media outside the entrance to the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, Unite convenor for the site Martin Foster said the move had come “too soon”.
Foster warned that the future of the plant was “a massive worry”, telling PA:
“This site seems to keep shrinking year by year, it’s a fraction of the size it used to be, and every year that goes by we seem to see the whole UK steel industry shrink that little bit more, and nobody seems to want to do anything to stop it.
“So I think it’s time that people like the Government sat up and took notice. I think the £300 million is a welcome amount of money but it just scratches the surface – it doesn’t plan for the long term.
“If we want a sustainable steel industry for the UK for the long term, we need to have a better plan than that – £300 million just buys us some time.”
Last month, it was reported that chancellor Jeremy Hunt was poised to grant a £300m funding package for struggling British Steel.
BREAKING 🚨🏭 | British Steel to axe 260 jobs at Scunthorpe plant
— GMB Union (@GMB_union) February 22, 2023
The Government needs to decide if they want the UK to have a future in steel – or for it to wither and die like so much of our proud manufacturing heritage.
Read more here ⬇️https://t.co/vIFXe9duZO
— GMB Union (@GMB_union) February 22, 2023
British Steel chief executive Xifeng Han says the company is undergoing the biggest transformation in its 130-year history, and that UK steelmaking ‘remains uncompetitive’ compared to rivals.
Xifeng explains:
“Jingye is committed to our long-term future but decarbonisation is a major challenge for our business and, like most companies, we’re facing significant challenges because of the economic slowdown, rising inflation and exceptionally high energy prices.
“For example, last year our energy bill rose by £120 million while we’ve also faced an increase of over £70 million in our annual carbon costs.
“We have taken action to reduce costs within our control; however, steelmaking in the UK remains uncompetitive when compared to other international steelmakers.”
“Our energy costs, carbon costs and labour costs are some of the highest across the world, which are factors that we cannot influence directly.
Unite: We’ll fight to defend every steel job under threat
The Unite union has vowed to fight to defend every job under threat at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, through the proposed closure of its coke ovens.
Unite national officer Linda McCulloch suggests this could include strike action, saying:
“This union has not yet seen any financial justification for the closure of the coking ovens. British Steel needs to come clean and open its books in order to try to justify its decisions.
“Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members’ jobs at British Steel.”
British Steel proposes closure of Scunthorpe coke ovens, with loss of up to 260 jobs
Newsflash: British Steel is proposing to close the coke ovens at its plant in Scunthorpe, with the loss of up to 260 jobs, the company has announced.
This confirms the fears voiced by unions this morning, that the company was planning to cut hundreds of jobs and shutter its coking ovens, which produce the fuel to power its blast furnaces.
The company’s owner, China’s Jingye Group, says the move is partly “to overcome global economic challenges,” and also due to rising costs (such as energy bills).
Jingye says in a statememt:
“Decisive action is required because of the unprecedented rise in operating costs, surging inflation and the need to improve environmental performance.
Community union warns of ‘catastrophic’ impact from steel job losses
The steelworkers union, Community, has warned that it will not accept redundencies if British Steel closes Scunthorpe’s coke ovens, as feared today.
Community’s national officer Alun Davies says the move would threaten the UK’s ability to produce steel, as it would rely on imported coke instead.
Davies say:
“British Steel’s plan to close the coke ovens could have a catastrophic impact on jobs and steel production at Scunthorpe and the UK as a whole.
“This move would see the company depending on unreliable imported coke and puts at risk our sovereign capability to produce steel in the UK for strategic infrastructure such as our rail networks.
“We will not accept redundancies and nothing is off the table when it comes to protecting our members’ jobs.
“The Government must do whatever it takes to reach a deal with British Steel that protects the loyal workforce and the future of steelmaking in this country.”
More encouragingly, German business morale has improved this month.
The Ifo institute’s business climate index has risen to 91.1 for February, up from 90.1 in January.
It adds to signs that Europe’s largest economy is recovering despite the energy crisis and high inflation.
Sentiment among German businesses rose for a 5th consecutive month on a brighter outlook BUT less than expecetd. Ifo Business morale rose to 91.1 in Feb from 90.1 in Jan. Ifo Expectations Index rose to 88.5 vs 88.4 exp. But Ifo Current Assessment Index dropped to 93.5 vs 95 exp. pic.twitter.com/c33CgWQIbu
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) February 22, 2023
ING economist Carsten Brzeski says that mild weather and fiscal stimulus measures helped the German economy.
He warns, though, that recession risks haven’t abated, saying:
The current assessment component dropped for the second month in a row and remains weak. It is expectations which surged and they have now improved for the fifth month in a row.
The inflow of optimistic data continues.
After the PMI and the ZEW, it is now the latest Ifo index reading which points to an improving outlook for the German economy.
But @carstenbrzeski explains why those recession fears haven’t gone away.https://t.co/QxMhyjc3DN
— ING Economics (@ING_Economics) February 22, 2023
Taiwan has cut its forecast for growth this year as weak exports continue to drag on the economy.
Gross domestic product is likely to grow 2.12% in 2023, Taiwan’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said Wednesday. That’s down from 2.75% year-on-year growth predicted in November.
Taiwan, which is home to many major tech companies, has been hit by a slump in exports as high global inflation, interest rate rises and the war in Ukraine hits demand.
The statistics body says:
“Under the influence of monetary tightening by various countries to combat inflation and the stalemate in the Russia-Ukraine war, terminal consumer demand has weakened, product prices have fallen, industrial supply chain inventories have been adjusted, and global economic growth has slowed.”
New data today has shown that Taiwan’s economy shrank by 0.4% in the last quarter of 2022, putting it on the brink of a technical recession.
New data:
– Taiwan is forecast to experience a technical recession, with the economy expected to contract 1.2% in Q1 2023 (after 0.41% contraction in Q4 2022)
– Recovery expected in second half of year
– But GDP forecast for 2023 revised down to 2.12% from 2.75%— James Chater (@james_chater) February 22, 2023
Weaker forecast driven mostly by slowing demand for TW’s exports. Gov’t now forecasting:
– 5.84% y/y contraction in exports over 2023
– from just 0.22% contraction predicted in November— James Chater (@james_chater) February 22, 2023
Lloyds bankers to share £446m bonus pot
Kalyeena Makortoff
Lloyds Banking Group staff will share their largest bonus pot in four years, despite the lender reporting flat profits as it put aside more money to protect against a potential jump in defaults amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
Lloyds, which owns Halifax and is the UK’s largest mortgage lender, said its top performing bankers would share a bonus pool worth £446m for their work in 2022 – up 11% from £399m last year and the largest sum to be distributed among employees since 2018.
The lender also revealed a £3.8m pay packet for its chief executive, Charlie Nunn. However, that is down 31% from the £5.5m he received in 2021, when he was handed a £4.2m buyout to compensate him for shares he gave up when he left HSBC to become Lloyds chief executive in August that same year.
The banking group reported flat profits of £6.9bn for the year, in line with average estimates from analysts, despite recording a near-50% jump in net interest income to £14bn, which accounts for the difference between what the bank pays out to savers and charges its loan and mortgage customers.
Here’s the full story:
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