WORKERS at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant took their campaign to save jobs to Westminster today, where they staged a rally and listened to an opposition day debate on the industry’s future.

The Indian transnational company announced last week that it would close both blast furnaces at the plant, causing the loss of 2,800 jobs, and replace them with a new electric arc furnace.

Tata ignored trade union proposals to save the production of primary steel in Britain by keeping one of the blast furnaces open.

The Community union welcomed a Labour plan to force a Commons vote on the issue following the opposition day debate.

In the Senedd, Plaid economic spokesman Luke Fletcher ensured that the Welsh legislature will hold an emergency debate on the steel crisis on Wednesday.

The unions’ Syndex Plan to retain primary steel production received a boost today when Economy Minister Vaughan Gething pledged to fight to persuade Tata Steel and the British government to keep at least one blast furnace open.

He said: “Tata Steel is not saying the union plans are not credible, they are saying that they are not affordable.”

Mr Gething called on the Tory government to increase the money it was offering to Tata to continue “producing primary steel in Britain for cars, cans and construction.”

He said the axing of about 2,800 jobs was “genuinely avoidable” and did not represent a just transition to carbon-neutral steel-making.

Mr Gething said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had not been available to speak with First Minister Mark Drakeford last week, adding that the Welsh government had also been “locked out of the room” during negotiations with Tata.

Mr Drakeford welcomed the Welsh Conservatives’ support for the retention of one blast furnace at Port Talbot and invited them to jointly lobby Whitehall for extra money, above the £500 million already pledged.

Mr Drakeford made the offer during First Minister’s Questions, saying: “We believe the unions have set out a credible plan to continue to produce primary steel with their Syndex Plan.”

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams offered her support to the steel unions in any industrial action they planned over the job cuts and backed calls for the emergency nationalisation of Tata Steel to protect Britain’s capacity to produce steel, not just recycle it.

Mr Gething expressed confidence that the British Labour Party’s £3 billion for green energy would be available to help finance both green recycled steel and the retention of primary steel production after the forthcoming general election.