In the past few weeks, you can see the insanity that the WEF has had on these imposed Net Zero vanity projects.
I had the pleasure of accompanying some of my other candidates to a Wales conference for Reform UK at Port Talbot this weekend and got to meet the people behind the imposed redundancy situation happening as we speak due to the government driver for NET ZERO. – BUT AT WHAT COST???
This is a cause close to both myself and the community of Shotton as the same was done to them back in 1976 when a labour government chose to shortlist Shotton for closure and after a long-fought battle, the conservatives came along in March 1980 under Thatcher’s rule and put the final nail in the coffin.
6,500 thousand were made redundant in one day, with close to 10,000 gone by the end of the year, and the area still shows the scars, and some in the community have never truly recovered.
Even though Tata is still in Shotton it is somewhat scaled back from the once largest employer that grew this region, but even though it has now just under 1000 staff the heart of its workers still grows strong.
Thatcher continued and against all odds we lost a lot of mines as well, it is as I keep saying “HAVE WE NOT LEARNT FROM OUR MISTAKES, IT IS LIKE HISTORY REPEATING AGAIN”
The devastation that will occur to Port Talbot will be excruciating, and it will lose 3 / 4 of its skilled and trained workforce at a time when most are facing a cost-of-living crisis. WHICH WILL BE 3 OUT OF EVERY 4 WORKERS WILL GO.
To place some statistics against the fluffy words of WEF and Welsh and UK Governments around climate and progress, and what each of their jobs is worth.
Tata at Port Talbot currently accounts for 16% of the coastal town’s entire population, and if we add the roles that subcontractors, partner suppliers, and agencies, the workers combined probably equates to double that over 30%.
So, this decision to cut 2,600 jobs will in essence wipe out close to a 1/3rd of the local area and underpin further doubts for the family and young people’s futures locally.
Also at what cost will this reach have, where are they going to get the steel to build the frames for its solar projects, or its Turbines ? or is this the agenda to ship it all abroad, but who does that benefit, NOT BRITAIN AND WALES.
Let us run through the true cost to the people of this Government’s rash decision, then I dare both the PM and opposing leader and Welsh Government to look me and this community in the eyes and tell me it’s worth it for so-called progress.
- 5,200 workers and partner agencies * 32,000 (average wage equivalent to benefits) = 166 million a year
- Taking into account wages run from
- Apprenticeship £ 20,000
- Time served Engineer – £62,000
- Taking into account wages run from
- Then let’s do that over 10 years.
- 1.66 billion in benefits to supplement lost earnings
- Extra healthcare and support needed due to mental health uplift and further strain on the NHS – £40 million
- Reskilling of individuals into other work –
- Approx 5200 * ave £4,800 each = £25 million
- 1.66 billion in benefits to supplement lost earnings
Total approx cost over 10 years £2 billion to just support the strain put on Port Talbot due to short-term thinking.
These are people’s costs they do not tell you the whole picture.
- how many other industries will be forced to make cuts due to this impact?
- How many other costs will rise to enable people just to live?
- What is the actual cost to the UK from the loss of the Steel industry in Construction, Aerospace, Automotive, and Defence?
It seems quite Ironic when plastered alongside 3 of the buildings by the strapping line at Tata Port Talbot is the motto “Our People Make the Difference?” when they are the first things they let go of.
Which people would that be, the ones you are sacrificing to move the infrastructure to India, and our government is allowing it to happen?
Whilst at our conference Richard Tice the leader of Reform UK who himself is a self-made millionaire had offered to go and talk to both, Unions, workers, and organisation to try and put some needed Common Sense back onto the negotiating table, and secure this much-needed skills and jobs for the long-term future of Wales and Britain as a whole, same as I have done, from my wealth of experience within the sector, and our representative for the area Caroline Jones was born and bred in the area and been brought up in and around the steelworks and embedded in the community, but as of yet no one will take him up on his offer, or that of the local representative to hear her concerns.
I did have the opportunity whilst I was there in the capacity of my reskilling company brought in by a 3rd party, which supports communities and people transition into other career pathways, to speak to some of the workers who have been placed at risk.
I did have the chance to speak personally to some of the locals who had warned me they were frightened not just about the redundancies but had been under specific instructions by the Unions not to talk to outside parties and would use initials to secure their anonymity.
• O – said, “I only took on a mortgage a few years ago and would be fearful to pay the bills if he had a period without work.”
• J – said, “I have worked in the blast Furness room for over a decade and worked my way through the works from boy to man, I am really worried about the current situation, and if I lose my job I fear I would have to move away to find work.”
• S – said “I started as an apprentice just over 34 years ago, during my time we have experienced a lot of change and job cuts, but the present one is the most fearful due to its magnitude. There is a lot of unease, and I think people just want clarity.”
Please see the great piece covered by ITV.
• https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-01-19/how-are-we-going-to-feed-our-families-steelworkers-concerned-about-future
• https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2024-02-02/tata-bosses-trigger-countdown-to-port-talbot-job-losses
Speaking to ITV Wales on the 19th January 2024 the official announcement, the boss of Tata Steel T. V. Narendran said he is “100% committed” to building an electric arc furnace at the Port Talbot site and continue with their Net Zero Goals.”
Followed up by a meeting held on site for the Tata Steel UK Transition Board with the UK and Welsh Govt on the 1st Feb 2024, which again no outside parties were given an invite.
Tata re-iterated their commitment to Net Zero and the Electric Arc explaining – “This means the site would no longer make steel from scratch but would recycle scrap metal instead. However, this method of steel production is less labour-intensive, meaning far fewer workers would be needed.”
He also stated the Furness were coming to the end of their lives, yet on the most recent grading last year, they returned one of the highest gradings of prime steel.
Questions need to be asked: –
1. As they have not even built the Electrical Arc Furness yet, is this just lip service for further cuts further down the road?
2. Why get rid of 2 perfectly working Furness’s that have stood the test of time, They might just need a little bounding to improve efficiency, which is a downtime of approx. 10 weeks, over what is projected now, when other countries like China and India are building them from scratch?
a. https://gmk.center/en/news/ulanhot-steel-launches-a-new-blast-furnace-at-a-plant-in-northern-china/
b. https://www.gem.wiki/Baosteel_Zhanjiang_Iron_%26_Steel_Co_Ltd
3. What happens to the carbon emissions and Net Zero Targets then when we have to ship our STEEL in from other nations?
4. If we go to war tomorrow, how do we equip our defense sector?
5. Also, with the Automotive industry what extra cost will be added to cars due to non-production in the UK due to lack of steel?
a. Will it still be privy to the DUTY and VAT imposed on non-manufactured in the UK?
6. How safe and competitive will our Aviation industry be if it has to import steel from other countries and will people like Airbus and BAE look at placing its main infrastructure abroad?
Why are people buying into this need for NET Zero?
- Climate change and the Greenhouse effect have always been there we just have better equipment to measure it.
2. How does the world get its energy today?
a. Over ¾ of it is fossil fuels just as it was 25 years ago, there are no renewable revolutions.
b. Britain is not “leading the World” to Net Zero, not unless the big boys come to the table as well.
c. The trace amounts of carbon zero do not make the earth move and the icebergs melt, and even if we were to suddenly follow all these guidelines how long it would take for these effects to reverse?
i. 10 years
ii. 100 years
iii. 500 years
iv. 1000 years
1. Experts don’t even know and estimate between 200 – 100 years.
Please support our campaign to SAVE THE STEELWORKS, this is the 1st step of many to get rid of Britain’s great infrastructure.
Steel production is a vital industry, and Port Talbot Steelworks is one of the most modern steelworks in the U.K.
We should oppose its closure and support its workforce!!!’
Wales is awesome at making STEEL, please help save these skills and knowledge and restore HOPE so that we have a future to leave for our future generations.
https://chng.it/JrHzdt6WGp