Three unions have put forward plans to ensure Scunthorpe ‘s British Steel blast furnaces keep running, but say the Government needs to move on carbon costs.
Unions GMB, Community and Unite met with bosses from British Steel’s owners Jingye Group this week. They presented their plan to maintain a two blast furnace operation throughout the transition to an electric arc furnace (EAF), and low carbon steelmaking.
GMB has said British Steel had “warmed” to the plan, but needs the Government to move on carbon. According to GMB, the company acknowledged the alternative plan, prepared by the independent steel consultants Syndex on the unions’ behalf, is a serious and credible piece of work. And they accepted a number of the recommendations and findings.
Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB National Officer, said: “The multi-union plan means Scunthorpe having both blast furnaces open as the site transitions to low carbon steelmaking. We believe that keeping the blast furnaces running is vital as it will reduce the risks of the transition and protect thousands of jobs.
“Jingye warmed to the proposal and agreed there were strong arguments for maintaining the blast furnaces. But the major barrier is the additional carbon costs to be paid under Government policy regulations.
“For our plan to be viable – we need Ministers to provide relief from these policy costs, just as other European countries have done. Thousands of jobs and primary steelmaking cannot be lost because carbon costs rule out British Steel pursing a sensible and just transition to low carbon steelmaking.”
Contacted for comment, a British Steel spokesperson said: “We are in ongoing discussions with the government about our decarbonisation plans and the future operations of our UK business. While progress continues, no final decisions have been made.”
The multi-union plans development comes in the wake of media reports that British Steel may be considering abandonment of plans to build an EAF in Teesside, and instead have two EAFs at its Scunthorpe site. A British Steel spokesperson said at the time no final decisions had been made.
British Steel effectively has planning permission for an EAF at its Scunthorpe site, narrowly approved by councillors in April 2024. This is subject to an agreed timescale for the decommissioning of the coke blast furnaces.
During that meeting, British Steel representatives stated the blast furnaces would be continued until the EAF was fully operational. It is since late summer that questions have emerged over whether this would remain the plan. A planning document stated construction of the EAF would take about 22 months.
The Department for Business & Trade has been contacted for comment on the multi-union plans as well. The Government has committed to £2.5bn investment in the steel industry in this Parliament. It also recently launched the Steel Council, made up of leaders from across the industry, to advise it on its future steel strategy.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
