Unions representing workers at steel producer, Corus, will meet today to plan a ballot for orchestrated and strategic industrial action.

The unions are campaigning to force the company to make a firm commitment to finding a buyer for its Teesside plant, which is being mothballed.

Corus began mothballing its Teesside Cast Products site at Redcar last Friday, 19 February.

The company's decision will lead to the loss of up to 10,000 jobs in an area already decimated by job losses. The closure will lead to 1,600 job cuts at Redcar but the knock-on effect is likely to lead to a further 8,000 job cuts in the surrounding area.

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Unite the union, which has 11,000 members across Corus, will join with its sister unions to discuss ways of using industrial action to bring maximum pressure against Corus with minimum disruption to its members.

Unite, National Officer Terry Pye said: "The unions are meeting today to plan orchestrated and strategic action to put maximum pressure on Corus. Unite is ready to ballot its members for industrial action, if we get a yes vote we intend to be precise and effective.

"We believe that the company is failing to consider offers from its competitors to buy the Redcar plant. We are aware that serious offers have been made to Corus that would allow production to remain at the plant, but the management has dismissed them all out of hand.

"With 10,000 jobs at stake in an area which has already been decimated by job losses, Corus has a moral responsibility to the workers and to the community. The workers have given years of loyalty and hard work and Corus owes them."

(CD/GK)