Tata Steel said on June 28 that it has launched legal proceedings against UK's Unite Union, challenging the validity of the union's ballot for strike action.
The decision comes days after around 1,500 Tata Steel workers in Britain decided to begin an indefinite strike from July 8 over the company's plans to close two blast furnaces and cut up to 2,800 jobs.
The strike action, described by Unite as the first strikes by British steel workers in 40 years, is supposed to take place at Tata's Port Talbot and Llanwern sites in Wales.
"In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site.," a Tata Steel spokesperson said.
The closures were announced in January as part of the Indian company's plan to turn around its loss-making UK business by switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces, a proposal backed by 500 million pounds ($632 million) of government money.
Following the strike announcement, the steelmaker warned of accelerated closures. "We call on the real decision makers in Mumbai to take hold of this dispute, sit down, negotiate and realise that the investment secured will be good for the company and workers," the union said in statement on June 27.
Tata Steel has called on to the union to withdraw the strike and consider its proposed deal with the UK government that includes a comprehensive support package worth £130 million for the affected employees, which entails redundancy terms, community programs, skills training etc.
The steelmaker has begun preparations to place equipment orders for the electric arc furnace by September 2024, begin enabling and preparatory works at the site by December 2024, and based on current permitting timelines, begin construction on the project by August 2025.
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