Steel industry calls for urgent support
The business secretary will face calls for urgent action to help UK steel when he meets industry executives on Wednesday amid what unions say is an ongoing “crisis”. The industry will press Greg Clark for action to reduce energy and tax costs, tackle unfair competition, and use public procurement to help support the sector, which was thrown into turmoil this year when Tata Steel announced it would sell its UK business after years of losses. Tata Group said it had replaced chairman Cyrus Mistry amid growing investor concern about the uninspiring financial performance of India’s salt-to-steel conglomerate. Tata was persuaded to reconsider its UK steel sale and is in talks with German rival ThyssenKrupp about a merger of their European interests. Tony Brady, of the Unite union, said the UK government had offered “kind words” but not enough support for Tata. “We are still very much in crisis?…?[what] we need now is action.” Without further support, the situation would remain “dire”, he told the Welsh assembly last week.
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