06 November 2023 , 22:40
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Brit Steel workers in Scunthorpe told of their shock after hearing about plans to close down their blast furnaces which was described as a “town killer”.
One worker told how he feared the loss of up to 2,000 jobs would create a “ghost town” and the unions said it was “death by a thousand cuts”.
The town’s history is dominated by the four blast furnaces known as the Four Queens of Ironmaking, named after four English queens – Mary, Bess, Anne and Victoria. In 1975 tragedy struck when 11 men were killed when an explosion occurred at the Queen Victoria furnace on the then Appleby-Frodingham ironworks.
Today in the town centre there’s a sculpture which stands in Foundry Square, a man and a woman leaving after a long shift made from Corten steel, to honour the generations of workers. Yesterday, current steel workers reacted to the news at the end of their shift, a mile from this statue.
Ethan Terentiak (left) and Charlie Murray who work on the blast furnaces (Reach Commissioned)Two young blast furnace workers Ethan Terentiak and Charlie Murray saying it all came as a “bit of a shock” and said they hoped the Government would “step in to help”. While labourer Lee Carter, who has worked at the plant for six years, said: “It’s a bit worrying. Where’s it going to be in ten years?
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“The majority of people who work here also live here, it’s going to turn Scunthorpe into a ghost town. It’s all a bit sudden.” Contractor Craig Welford, 49, shook his head as he left work on Monday and said: “I found out this morning, it’s not good.”
And Thomas Hughes, 60, a welder contractor, said of the mood on the plant: “They are all upset and very worried.” Martin Foster from Unite spoke to The Mirror outside the plant, and said: “I’ve lived in Scunthorpe all my life and it’s the biggest private employer in the town by quite a margin.
“This could mean 2,000 job losses, that’s 2,000 families devastated, a local community that will be devastated. The impact is just enormous. Somebody said to me today,’ it could be a town killer.’ For the guys who work here this is absolutely shocking news and it’s a case of deja vu.
“We always hope this is going to be the last time but for these guys it feels like a death by a thousand cuts. For the guys itself this is the end in some cases of a very long career who have enjoyed a good living here and who are having it taken away from them with no fault of their own.
“All we are seeing at the moment is jobs being slashed and people thrown over the side.” Paul McBean, chairman of British Steel Community Union, described it as a “massive let down” for the workers.
“We were told officially this morning. Obviously there was shock this morning and the workforce are upset about what the future holds. We are happy that they have consulted with us and we are happy with the investment but the job losses we are not happy with.”