It is reported that union leaders will today gave steel giant Corus a 2 week deadline to find a buyer for a plant it has mothballed or face the threat of national strikes.

Officials from a number of unions said they were offering a genuine olive branch to the company to avert industrial action and safeguard the future of the Teesside Cast Products site at Redcar.

The National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee said they were offering Corus a 14 day period of grace to take a ''different course of action.''

A statement said “Corus now has an opportunity to show genuine leadership and to demonstrate their willingness to find an alternative future for Teesside by meeting constructively with potential and credible off takers or buyers. If Corus fails to demonstrate the necessary leadership, statesmanship and progress in the next 14 days, regrettably, we will need to implement alternative plans to safeguard steelmaking across the UK. We will continue to consult with our members about alternative options, with the interests of Teesside and the future of the UK steel industry foremost in our minds.”

Mr Michael Leahy general secretary of Community said “This is a genuine olive branch, offered in the interests of all in finding a way forward to save our steel on Teesside.”

Mr Terry Pye national officer for Unite said “We are giving Corus a window of opportunity to commit to finding a buyer for Teesside. This is a pause for peace to allow Corus to take the initiative because there are 10,000 jobs on the line.”

Mr Keith Hazlewood national officer of the GMB said “We are giving Corus two weeks to see if they can find a buyer for the plant and will meet again in two weeks time.”

Unions had announced their intention to ballot thousands of steelworkers for industrial action in protest at the mothballing of the plant, but are holding off because they are convinced credible buyers are interested in the plant. The unions have written to Corus chief executive Kirby Adams saying they will meet again on March 15 to decide their next move.

The plant was mothballed last month, threatening 1,600 direct jobs and thousands more in supply firms, with Corus blaming the crisis on an international consortium which pulled out of a 10 year contract to buy steel slabs.


(Sourced from thenorthernecho.co.uk)