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.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a historic vote. Not since the 1980s have steel workers voted to strike in this way.

“This Yes vote has happened despite Tata’s threats that if workers took strike action, enhanced redundancy packages would be withdrawn.

“Unite will be at the forefront of the fight to save steel-making in Wales. We will support steel by all and every means.”

She pointed out other EU countries are decarbonising their steel industries while retaining and growing their capacity with predictions of a 10-fold increase in demand in the coming years.

“In the UK, Tata’s plans and those of the government reflect the short-term thinking of a clapped-out disinterested government marking time to a general election,” she added.

“In contrast Labour have done the right thing and committed £3 billion to UK steel following intense discussions with Unite.”

The union’s Wales regional secretary Peter Hughes added: “Tata has employed everything from bribes to threats to discourage our members from industrial action.

“They will not be intimidated into standing by while Tata attempts to carry out an act of devastating industrial vandalism against their jobs and communities, inflicting untold harm on the Welsh economy and the UK’s national interest.”

Fellow steelworkers’ union Community, which opened a strike ballot for its members at Tata for industrial action today, accused Tory industry minister Alan Mak of “sneaking around” the site while avoiding contact with workers.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said it put forward an improved package of support for employees “impacted by the proposed transformation” on March 22 and was “naturally disappointed” by the Unite strike announcement.