disappearing steel
WORKERS, JUNE 2003 ISSUE
The Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee, examining the debacle associated with the steel industry, has heard conflicting views as to the future.
The retiring Corus Chairman, Sir Brian Moffat, defended his catastrophic management regime of the last 4 years: over 13,000 job losses, the 99% collapse in share value, losses of over £2 billion and closures threatening the remaining steel communities in Britain and the actual ability to continue making steel. He summed up his strategic thinking for the industry by welcoming a Russian "entrepreneur" buying into Corus as, "He has the right to buy if he has the money." If Corus and Moffat's successors remain, steel will die.
Mick Leahy of the ISTC union called for government to intervene to preserve steel as one of Britainıs strategic industries - all manufacturing is dependent on it. The parallels with the support given to coal and nuclear power in recent years are clear. The future of Corus may be less than 12 months.
In January 2004 Corus's £1.4 billion bank debt has to be renegotiated,and so far the banks are not indicating support. Unbelievably, Belgium, a buffer state of the 19th century, produced more steel in January 2003 than Britain. Mr Leahy clearly indicated that the problem of Corus was not the "strong" pound, was not the workforce - who have given unstinting support and flexibility - but the disastrous ineptitude of Corus management.
For most of the 20th century, successive governments either nationalised or retained a substantial controlling interest in the existence of the British steel and metal industries. This interest went to extraordinary degrees and even included published tonnage of strategic reserves of every conceivable grade of steel and scrap, because of a cold-blooded rationale: to defeat trade rivals you needed to be able to produce armaments. Britain's shambolic steel and metal industries nearly lost Britain the first imperialist world war. Workers put that right, but now we have the prospect of having no steel in Britain at all.