Save the steel plants: Step-up the campaign for nationalisation
Matt Dobson reports
The consultation period for the threatened Tata steel plants at Motherwell (Dalzell), Cambuslang (Clydebridge) and Scunthorpe has come to an end.
As yet there are only rumours in the media about the possibility of private buyers.
On 7th December, the Daily Record reported that the Scottish government are considering a short-term subsidy for the steel plants in Lanarkshire. The SNP also claim they have buyers interested. While any subsidy over the Christmas period would come as a relief to workers and communities facing the immediate prospect of mass redundancies, it is not certain how long this subsidy can be paid and what strings are attached.
The workforce at both Dalzell and Clydebridge have been on short-time working since early November and the proposed subsidy would likely see this continue.
Why can’t the Scottish government pay the full wages of the steel workers? Why have the SNP government allowed the crisis to be dragged out in the search for a private buyer when they could have brought the plants into public ownership.
The Forth Road Bridge closure is having a huge economic and social impact, a result of failing steel structures in the bridge. This underlines this need for steel to assist in crucial infrastructure projects.
The national manufacturers’ organisation, EEF, found that the steel industry is leading the decline of manufacturing in the UK. In a report published on Monday 7 December, EEF said the 2016 outlook is gloomy.
The industry’s output balance is set to fall for the fourth consecutive quarter, reaching the lowest level since 2009. Questions as to the viability of private buyers have to be asked, given the refusal of the bosses to invest in manufacturing industry.
Campaign for nationalisation
The trade unions at all the Tata plants and in the steel industry beyond, should convene an emergency meeting of shop stewards to organise a mass campaign drawing in support from communities for nationalisation and to demand no loss of pay and worsening of conditions takes place, even if a private buyer is found.
The trade unions cannot rely on the taskforce’s, involving the bosses who have mismanaged the industry, protecting their interests.
A discussion needs to take place among shop stewards and steel workers about tactics, including occupations and industrial action to force the issue of nationalisation and a fightback to protect terms and conditions.
A major part of the trade unions campaign has to been to lobby the EU commission over competition in the world steel market for a “level playing field”. This lobbying has been unproductive with the EU institutions simply putting the interests of multinationals over that of steel workers.
Mass support exists in communities for the idea of nationalisation and a fight back to save jobs. We have seen this in the sizeable marches and rallies in Motherwell, Scunthorpe and Sheffield. Socialist Party Scotland has been to the fore in campaigning for the saving of steel jobs, calling on the SNP Scottish government to nationalise Dalzell and Clydebridge.
At the recent Scottish Steel Taskforce meeting in early December, we handed in a petition supporting nationalisation with 2,000 signatures collected on our street stalls locally.
The case for nationalisation of all the threatened steel plants could have been more clearly and energetically made by Jeremy Corbyn – elected on anti-austerity policies.
The SNP’s reluctance to take up the issue of nationalisation again shows their pro big-business nature.
It will be vital in the coming Scottish election that candidates stand in Lanarkshire calling for nationalisation of the steel industry and in opposition to all cuts, including the 1300 jobs threatened by the North Lanarkshire Labour council. The Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is prepared to help build such a challenge.
