Fight to save the steel jobs – Nationalise the industry now!

Matt Dobson

1,200 steel jobs are threatened across the UK, including 400 in Scotland with the closure of the two remaining steelworks at Motherwell (Dalzell – see picture above) and Cambuslang (Clydebridge). These body blows came after the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar and the loss of 2,200 jobs.

It is critical that the trade unions such as Community, which has publicly announced a policy of no compulsory redundancies, mobilise a fight back of the workforce and for the nationalisation of the plants. Action is needed before Tata bosses are given grace to walk away leaving workers on the scrapheap, as SSI did in Redcar.

Working class action can have an impact. Recently the workforce at Tata returned a huge mandate for strike action in May over pensions. This forced Tata bosses to the table with a serious offer.

The SNP have already come under pressure to take action by effectively nationalising the Tata sites, with finance minister John Swinney being asked about this directly in media interviews.

Public anger is being expressed over the lack of protection for Scotland’s steel industry. The SNP government awarded contracts to Chinese steel suppliers for the Forth Road Bridge contract in 2012.

It’s likely the SNP, unless forced by mass pressure, will only ask for a Westminster subsidy or use Scottish Government funds to try and get the task force to agree a short-time working arrangement to keep the plants open.

The Socialist in Scotland spoke to Callum Munro, Community Trade Union Communications and Research Officer. Calum told us: “Community want all options on the table. Everything should be done to avoid compulsory redundancies and keep Clydebridge and Dalzell as working assets of the steel industry. Community are willing to discuss the issue of “short-time working”, which has happened before. The issue of temporary nationalisation of these assets shouldn’t be discounted.”

nationalisation

Labour and Jeremy Corbyn should make a clear call for the nationalisation of the threatened Tata steelworks. This would give confidence to trade unionists, the workforce and communities threatened with devastation by these closures.

It’s not ruled out a temporary subsidy or short-time working arrangement to stop the complete collapse of the steel industry in the UK or Scotland could be agreed.

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.

• Open the books of Tata, SSI and others to inspection by democratically elected representatives of the workforce and the trade unions.
• 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.
• If short-time working agreement is agreed, trade unions should demand full compensation and no loss of pay for the workforce.
• For the workforce trade unions, Community and Unite, 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.