Corus is in crisis, say UK unions

British unions have stepped up pressure on Tata Steel-owned Corus over the partial mothballing of the Teesside plant in February.

The National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Commi-ttee, which met on Monday to discuss the future action by steel unions, refused to rule out possibility of strikes to force Corus to be more invested in the future of Teesside plant.

The unions warned that strikes would be their last resort against Corus. “We have still not ruled out balloting our membership for industrial action but this will be an action of last resort and we hope Corus will demonstrate the necessary progress to avoid this outcome,” it said.

The committee said, “We have serious concerns about the leadership of Corus — we see a company in meltdown.” The unions had given Corus two weeks after the mothballing of the plant in Redcar, which led to loss of about 1,600 jobs, to find a buyer for the plant.

However, the unions said Corus has failed to demonstrate progress in finding a future for Teesside and has also issued compulsory redundancy notices.