Tata Steel confirms 1,000 job cuts in UK as talks with workers kick off
London, Nov 27: Tata Steel Europe said it had begun consultations with the European Works Council (EWC) on Wednesday on restructuring plans for its business, which would include up to 3,000 job losses 1,000 of which will be in the UK.
The job cuts had been announced by the Indian steel major last week as part of a wider transformation programme as it blamed ongoing losses and continued global headwinds faced by the steel industry.
As part of the comprehensive set of proposals, Tata Steel Europe intends to lower employment costs, the company statement said.
This is expected to lead to an estimated reduction in employee numbers of up to 3,000, about two-thirds of which would be management and office-based roles. Up to 1,600 are expected in the Netherlands, 1,000 in the UK and 350 elsewhere in the world, it said.
Tata Steel said it aims to build a financially strong and sustainable European business, able to make the investments required to accelerate innovation and the company's journey towards carbon-neutral steelmaking.
Tata Steel in Europe CEO, Henrik Adam, said: I'm very proud to see the dedication of everyone in this business, determined to succeed even in the face of a very tough market. I also understand and appreciate colleagues' concerns about these proposals.
Change creates uncertainty, but we cannot afford to stand still as a company the world around us is changing fast and we have to adapt. Our strategy is to build a strong and stable European business, capable of making significant investments needed for a successful future.
During the meeting this week, which marked the official start of the employee consultation process with the EWC workers' unions, Tata Steel Europe said it had shared initial proposals about its transformation programme, focused across three other key areas besides lowering employment costs to improve the company's financial performance.
Increasing sales of higher-value steels by improving product mix and customer focus; efficiency gains by optimising production processes, supported by the application of big data and advanced analytics; and reduction of procurement costs through smarter sourcing and strengthening cooperation with companies within the Tata Steel group are among the other key focus areas of the company's plans.
Tata Steel said it agreed with the EWC on a forward process and will meet again in the coming weeks to discuss further details, with employees and other stakeholders kept updated during the process.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
