Tata Steel: Port Talbot coke ovens closing amid stability fear

Tata Steel has announced the coke ovens at its giant plant in south Wales will close on Wednesday over concerns about their "operational stability".

The Community union called it "a massive blow" while Unite said it was the "result of years of betrayal".

About 200 workers in Port Talbot are likely to be affected, but uncertainty remains about their immediate future.

The ovens are used to heat coal to create a hard residue called coke which is then used to fuel blast furnaces.

Unions had been aware of concerns about the condition of the ovens for some time and previously said they would not oppose early closures on safety grounds, but want assurances on job security.

Workers will be required to decommission the coke ovens and there may be the possibility of redeployment to other parts of the operation in the short term.

The coke ovens were scheduled to close in June, along with blast furnace five, under Tata's proposals for the future of Port Talbot.

Blast furnace five will continue to operate despite the closure, with coke imported from elsewhere.

Community union's national officer for steel Alun Davies said the union was working to conclude negotiations on an enhanced redundancy and retention package. 

"Regretfully the coke ovens were always going to close during the transition period, but once the national consultations conclude we will ballot for industrial action should Tata confirm their intention to close blast furnace number four," he added.

Unite union's regional secretary for Wales, Peter Hughes, said the company needed to halt its plans.

"Tata cannot be allowed to carry on its course of deliberate industrial vandalism. Unite will fight the company every step of the way."

Tata Steel chief executive Rajesh Nair said the condition of the ovens had worsened, making it untenable to keep running them.

"The performance of the coke ovens has been deteriorating over many months, despite some Herculean efforts by the teams there," he added.

He said the company would work with workers "to understand their aspirations in alignment with our ongoing wider consultation programme".

Nearly 2,000 redundancies are planned at the Port Talbot because Tata plans to close both blast furnaces by the end of the year and build an electric arc furnace (EAF) by 2027.

Three trades unions with members working at the plant are opposing Tata's plans and urging the company to keep one blast furnace running while the EAF is built.

A consultation is ongoing.