REDUNDANCIES AT CORUS

Early day motion 1012, tabled 24 July 2000 by Ian Cawsey (Labour). Signed by 60 members.

That this House notes the 3,900 redundancies announced by Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel producer, in North Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Teeside, Scotland and South Wales since June; further recognises that these redundancies mean that Corus have now made more people redundant than Rover have in the West Midlands; calls upon the Government to give the same co-ordinated ministerial support at a national level as they have given to Rover, shipbuilding and the coal industries in times of distress; deplores the lack of consultation with the ISTC and the other unions representing employees in the steel industry; believes that loyal and hardworking steel workers and their communities are being sacrificed for short-term gains to Corus' balance sheet at a time when the strength of the pound has begun to decrease; is appalled at the drawn out nature and 'spinning' of the redundancy announcements; and calls upon the Government to introduce legislation to ensure that UK employees and their representatives are consulted prior to any major redundancy announcements, thus enjoying the same level of fairness as their EC counterparts.

Signatures by party: Labour 57, Plaid Cymru 2, Labour/Co-operative 1.