Workers’ action and nationalisation can save steel jobs

Socialist Party Scotland leaflet

The expected but shocking announcement by Tata of the effective closure of Dalzell and Clydebridge, and the almost 1,000 job losses at Scunthorpe, are a disaster for the workforce and the local communities.

These devastating blows come on top of the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar and the loss of 2,200 jobs and the crisis at Caparo.

We support the call made by the National Shop Stewards Network (www.shopstewards.net) in calling on the unions to bring together their shop stewards in all the companies affected to discuss a national strategy for action. This could involve industrial action, occupations and the vital demand of the renationalisation of the industry to stop the jobs slaughter and save the skills of the workforce.

The companies involved must also open the books for full inspection by the workforces.

It is critical that the trade unions take immediate action. Working class action can have an impact. Recently the work- force at Tata returned a huge mandate for strike action in May over pensions. This forced Tata bosses to the table with a serious offer.

And its not only in the steel industry that the jobs slaughter is taking place. Construction companies like JCB and Caterpillar are also carrying out hundreds of job cuts.

The Scottish Government are coming under pressure to take action.

They have announced a Task Force. But they should act now by announcing their intention to bring Tata operations in Scotland into public ownership to save the jobs and the skills and protect the communities.

This is about protecting a vital industry and time cannot be lost. The trade unions involved should demand the nationalisation of the plants, alongside building a mass trade unions and community campaign to save the jobs.

As the Community trade union rep at Dalzell ex- plained, “The task force must deliver. It needs to come up with real, practical solutions that protects the workforce, the skills and the assets.”

Immediate public ownership of the plants would also give time for the workforce and the unions to draw up a plan for the future.

For example providing government and public sector contracts for the steel. Unlike in 2012 when the Scottish Government awarded contracts to Chinese steel suppliers for the Forth Road Bridge.

nationalisation

We also expect and call for Jeremy Corbyn – the new anti-austerity Labor leader – to support the nationalisation of the threatened Tata steelworks. This would give confidence to trade unionists, the workforce and communities threatened with devastation by these closures.

Of course a government subsidy to the company is also possible. While this would come as relief to workers and communities if the immediate prospect of mass redundancies were avoided, it is not certain what strings would come with subsidies.

It is also likely that even if a subsidy was agreed by Westminster or the Scottish government, Tata would prioritise profits over long-term investment in jobs.

The crisis in the steel industry fundamentally reflects the stagnation crisis in the world capitalist economy.

The slowdown in the Chinese economy and the flooding of the market with cheap steel are key factors. About half of the 1.6 billion tonnes of steel made worldwide each year comes from China.

Devaluation of its currency has resulted in China being able to competitively export 100 million tonnes a year. This means a race to the bottom with workers’ livelihoods paying the price as super-rich steel magnates like Tata think nothing of shifting production from the UK. Workers have no choice but to fight to save the jobs.

• Open the books of Tata, SSI and others to inspection by democratically elected representatives of the workforce and the trade unions.
• Trade unions should convene an emergency meeting of shop stewards from all the affected plants to plan a fighting response to the jobs slaughter.
• For the SNP Scottish government to intervene to bring the Motherwell and Cambuslang steelworks into democratic public ownership under workers control and management. Compensation to small shareholders on the basis of proven need.
• For the workforce trade unions to organise a mass campaign across the UK for the nationalisation of the steel industry involving the whole trade union movement and the wider community.