Jaguar Land Rover unions bosses in plea to Tata
UNION leaders representing thousands of workers at Jaguar Land Rover have written to the car company’s parent Tata Group urging it to act responsibility in its disposal of its UK steel business.
The leaders have asked chairman Cyrus Mistry to ensure Tata Steel UK is sold as a single entity and to allow enough time during negotiations for a credible buyer to be found.
The joint letter was prompted by concerns that the parent group was just ‘going through the motions’ and planned to dispose of its UK steel operations in a matter of weeks.
The Unite union said it was anxious to avoid a ‘fire sale’ that would strip the industry of its assets and pose problems for thousands of UK workers.
The letter came as leaders of Unite, Community and GMB met with Business Secretary Sajid Javid to demand government action to save the UK steel industry ahead of his meeting with Mr Mistry in Mumbai today.
In their letter to Mr Mistry, Bob Nason Unite chair of JLR and Ken Smith, convenor at JLR Halewood, said: “As union reps representing members in Jaguar Land Rover, part of Tata, we are extremely concerned for our brothers and sisters working in the UK steel industry.
“We are mindful of the assurances that you gave to the UK steel unions that the company would behave in a responsible manner and would sell to a responsible buyer if it had to.
“We are alarmed to read comments in the press that the company is looking to dispose of its UK steel operations within a short period of time.
“This is not something that a responsible employer would seek to do, given any sale and the necessary arrangements and due diligence will take some considerable time.
“Therefore we would ask you to confirm that Tata will act in a responsible manner in the UK, will allow sufficient time and resources to secure the business through a new buyer, that the whole of the Tata business in the UK is sold ‘as a whole’ and that you make it clear this is the course of action you will follow.”
Unite has nearly half a million members working in manufacturing industries across the UK. It has called on the UK government to intervene to stabilise and secure the UK steel industry through a series of measures.
These include throwing UK steel a financial lifeline and dropping opposition to European Commission proposals to slap higher tariffs on cheap Chinese imports.
Unite has also urged ministers to take action on high energy costs to try and ensure the UK steel industry can compete on a level playing field with European counterparts. It also wants the Government to compel industry to use British steel in the UK’s infrastructure and defence projects.
