PORT Talbot steelworkers will strike for the first time in more than 40 years after Unite today vowed to fight Tata’s plans to slash 2,800 jobs as it replaces blast furnaces with electric arc alternatives.

The union said around 1,500 of its members based in Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales backed industrial action “decisively,” warning that dates for strike action will soon be announced and aimed at causing “maximum impact.”

It said the Indian multinational now has other choices than to slash livelihoods after the union secured a commitment from Labour that it will invest £3 billion in UK steel — six times more than the £500 million pledged by the current government.