Members of a fourth and final union representing Tata Steel employees in the UK have voted in favour of strike action over plans to close the long running British Steel Pension Scheme.
Unite represents around 6,000 Tata Steel workers, or just over a third of the company’s UK workforce. Seventy per cent had voted for industrial action, following the ballot, which ran from May 26 to June 5.
Three other unions, Community, UCATT and GMB, representing over 6,000 workers, have already announced that their members had voted for strike action.
The workers oppose the steel giant’s plans to close their existing pension scheme in the face of an estimated £2 billion deficit, and replace it with a defined contribution scheme, after negotiations on reforms to the existing scheme broke down.
Unions have so far been cautious when it comes to defining the shape of any action that might take place. Further details are likely to emerge following a meeting of all four unions on Monday. Any action would have to take place within four weeks of May 29, the date of the first set of ballot results.
Tata Steel described the latest results as “disappointing.” “Less than half of our workforce actually voted for strike action and less than half of Unite union’s members who were balloted voted for it,” the company said.
Tata has pledged to unveil measures that will mitigate the impact of some aspects of the proposed scheme that it consulted employees on, including early retirement options currently available.