Yeah,
>> it all started so well in South
Yorkshire for Sanjie Gupta. His scheme
to revive steel production by using
scrap metal as his raw material met with
royal approval.
>> Your support shows that you believe that
this industry has a future. It's based
on recycling.
>> 7 years on and the high court has ruled
Specialtity Steel UK as hopelessly
insolvent. Unable to do business because
of its debts, the government will now
step in to pay staff wages, cover costs,
and try to find a buyer.
>> It will be a positive step. I think for
me, it's about getting people back into
work. It's about um create the
sustainable steel industry for the
future um and growing the business uh to
where it should be. This is the second
time this year the government has
intervened in what remains of the
British steel industry. It took over the
running of British Steel's furnaces in
Skunthorp after its Chinese owners
warned that they were going to shut them
down. It says it's had inquiries about
the sites in South Yorkshire, but anyone
thinking about making steel in the UK
has to contend with energy bills which
are much higher than pretty much
anywhere else in the world and an
obligation to go green. 2,000 jobs were
lost last year in South Wales when the
Ptor steel plant went electric. All this
in an industry which the government says
it still regards as vital to the wider
economy and national security.
>> High energy costs are a problem and
that's largely down to our reliance on
gas with the government trying to take
steps to reduce some of those business
costs. Um but that will take time. Um
and really you know it's it's a global
market now. Um whereas com it used to be
companies in the UK would buy British
steel. Uh now they can go elsewhere and
and get steel in from other places. So
it's it's a changing market to what it
was in the '9s, 80s, even before that.
>> The question of economic sustainability
has haunted Britain's steel industry for
years, but right now it is an urgent one
for the workforce at Specialtity Steel.
It's supposed to be payday tomorrow for
them and tonight they have no idea
whether there'll be money in their
accounts tomorrow or not. Get right
Vincent News at 10.
Well, Jonathan Brown is outside one of
the company's steel plants in
Stockbridge in South Yorkshire tonight.
And Jonathan, it goes without saying
this news must be causing great
uncertainty for the community where you
are this evening.
Yes, you'd think that today's
announcement will provide some level of
reassurance to a workforce that's been
facing a huge amount of uncertainty. But
tonight, there are still many questions
that remain unanswered for people
working here and 12 miles away in
Rotherham. First and foremost, as we've
heard, tomorrow is payday for staff
working for Specialtity Steel UK. Now,
as we've heard, the government says that
staff will be paid. They say they're
footing the bill for wages and costs to
keep both of these sites running. But
union bosses that we've spoken to in the
last few hours say that staff still
don't know exactly when that will
happen. On top of that, communities like
this in South Yorkshire are synonymous
with this industry. Steel's been
produced here since the 1840s. So there
are generations of steel workers who've
relied on what's been a major employer
here. The local football club even is
called Stocksbridge Park Steels. So
aside from the national picture, the
wider impact of possible closures or job
losses on the local economy would be
huge. and unions say that this plant in
particular is a key national asset.
That's because it provides steel for the
aerospace and oil and gas industries.
And tonight, the UK steel, which is the
industry's trade body, has said that the
slowing of production at these sites has
already led businesses domestically to
turn to cheaper foreign imports. They
say securing a new buyer to invest the
money that's needed to change that um
needs to happen quickly. But as we've
heard, there are many challenges and
many reasons why companies like this are
struggling and many reasons why workers
here will be wary of what's to come.