TORCH (the official paper of the Rotherham Steelworkers Committee) had predicted this as far back as late October. This was not due to any talents for clairvoyance; the facts spoke for themselves.
On June 28th, John Davies, Secretary for Trade and Industry, announced the transfer of profitable sections of the British Steel Corporation's (BSC) works at River Don, plus the forging order book and the goodwill, to the private steel works of Firth Brown, in exchange for Shepcote Lane Rolling Mills and Firth-Vickers flat products-both lame ducks. The unprofitable sections of River Don, including the heavy forge and casting department, were to be closed down with 4,500 redundancies. The impact on Sheffield was tremendous. Unemployment figures are already around the 12,000 mark. "VIABLE"-For who?
In response the Shop Stewards Cttee. at River Don which is dominated by the AUEW (which in turn is dominated by the Communist Party) brought out the proposals for "Project Silver'. This project pointed out that with an investment of E3½ in the River Don melting shop, and the re-arrangement of the melting procedures, the heavy forge and casting department could be made economically viable. There were also statements referring to the fact that River Don is the only place in Britain where forgings of up to 200 tons plus can be produced, and that it was in the national interest etc. To show their faith in the project "Silver"
Q: What are the redundancies going to mean to Stocksbridge?
A: Stocksbridge was built up around Samual Fox's and Co. Ltd., the steel works now a part of BSC. 60% of the adult male population are employed there and so it is easy to understand the effect redundancies are having on such a small town as Stockbridge.
What are the rank and file workers doing about fighting redundancies?
A: At present militants here are trying to form some sort of steel workers cttee., because action through the official trade union is impossible. The union officials here have a completely negative attitude towards the fight against redundancies.
Q: What is the managements and the unions attitude in the face of rank and file action? A rank and file steelworkers cttee. hasn't really got going here yet so little pressure has been brought to bear either on the management or the union officials. But there is no doubt that when this happens any rank and file action will be really threatened.
REDUNDANCIES AT STOCKSBRIDGE
After the announcement of redundancies at Rotherham works, BSC's policy is beginning to take effect in Stocksbridge as well. Most depts. are hit. The staff are to be cut by 10%; the maintenance depts. by 5% now with a figure as high as 20% in the long term; and the production workers who have suffered the majority of the redundancies in the past through rationalisation' measures are to be affected by further cutbacks.
8 SC 1S YOURS This meant that workers who had been made redundant would be kep on by the Shop Stewards their wages being paid out of a hardship fund. By made-the principle of redundancies had been put forward, the more BSC were resolute in their closing down of the Iriam Works in Manchester was to be withdrawn and that only half of the to be implemented.
B.S.C. Plan unfolds Meanwhile back across the Pennines, more At BSC Rotherham Works it was "discovered' by members of the Rotherham Steel Workers Cttee. that the management were investigating the possibilities of producing and transporting 250 Shop of Rotherham works is the largest electric steel melting plant in the world, and its 180 ton for making these ingots. River Don is the only plant in Britain to use ingots of this size.
Govt. had given the go ahead to build a £100 million power station in Cheshire which would that the heavy forge could be viable but with make a picture.
works and Scunthorpe).
ABANDON THE WORK-ON thing we should do is abandon the work-on'. -WE WILL FIGHT TO KEEPT Cttee. to carry messages and do similar duties, with doing this an extremely important mistake had been accepted. The more the proposals for viability were determination. It is worth noting that whilst all this was happening, BSC announced that the proposed 4,353 proposed redundancies there would be likely developments were taking place which were to provide further clues to the future intentions of BSC.
ton ingots (see Torch issue No. 1) I should point out at this stage that the Templeborough Melting electric are furnaces would be extremely suitable It was also reported earlier in the week that the require 500 megawatt turbo generator units. Add to this the suggestions made by an old ESC director (ESC owned River Don works before nationalisation)
drastic reductions in the work force, and a change from Heavy Steel conditions to the Sheffield Shift Arrangement which would mean a wage cut and productivity deals, etc. and the jigsaw pieces begin to It is clear then that BS's original announcement of the closure involving 4,500 redundancies was sit-ins. made so that when its real intentions were made known they would be greeted with sighs of relief. It is now expected that the redundancies will still be around 1,500 so the fight is still on. It will be even harder now because BSC are past masters at playing one off against the other-those. whose jobs are threatened against those whose are not. (Orders from Irlam for instance which is threatened with huge redundancies, are being rolled at Rotherham So how do we fight the redundancies? The first Q: What will the affect of the latest redundancies. be at Rotherham?
A: It will have quite a big affect because 50% of the male population of this town work at BSC Rotherham.
Q: What is the situation like in the private sector where you work?
A: Just as bad. My firm alone declared 70 redundant last week. What's really bad about this is that our firm is importing Japanese steel when men at BSC not more than half a mile away are being made redundant because of the serious 'trading position'. So much for the employers 'responsibility' to the community.
Q: How are the unions in the steel industry fighting redundancies?
They are not. In fact ISTC (BISAKTA) the A: main union in steel is working hand and glove with the management. It is not uncommon to find men working overtime alongside men who are working their redundancy notices. British Steel
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The recent news that the River Don would be repreived came as no surprise. Indeed the
Interview with IMG militant in BSC Stockbridge
S and also to resist redundancies, the Shop Stewards Cttee. proposed work-on" similar to that at UCS.
Interview with IMG militant in the private sector at Rotherham