Workers at Tata Steel are to be balloted over industrial action in a row over pensions.
The National Executive Council of the Community trade union, which represents most of the Tata Steel workforce, authorised the general secretary to ballot the membership within Tata Steel UK for action.
Senior managers at the Indian firm, which has sites in Skinningrove, Lackenby, Grangetown, and Hartlepool, employing about 1,500 people in the area, announced their intention to close the British Steel Pension Scheme to future payments.
At the meeting on Tuesday, members of the NEC expressed their anger and disappointment at the company’s actions.
“After due consideration the following resolution was proposed and subsequently endorsed,” a spokesman said.
“The NEC hereby authorises the general secretary to ballot the membership within Tata Steel UK for industrial action in protection of the British Steel Pension Scheme, and to call for any industrial action deemed necessary in furtherance of the dispute.”
Paul McBean, Community NEC member for the union’s Yorkshire and Humber region, and Chair of the Multi-Union at Tata Steel Scunthorpe, said: “We have tried to bring Tata back to the negotiating table, but to no avail.
“Even after coming up with schemes to bridge all of the deficit Tata did not want to know and are hell-bent on closing the scheme.
“After all that we have done for the company, working with them to save money to keep the company going forward, the efforts and sacrifices of our members have been thrown in their faces by Tata. This response is totally unacceptable to Community and its members and we know we need to stand up to Tata.”
In October last year the firm announced it wants to sell off its Long Products Europe division, including the Lackenby Beam Mill and Special Profiles operations at Skinningrove - affecting around 700 workers on Teesside.
However staff will still be balloted as at present they remain part of the Tata Steel workforce.
Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary, said: “Our National Executive Council recognises that this is not just about Tata Steel, it’s about an attack on the terms and conditions of Community members.”
He added: “In the coming days and weeks we will be calling on our members to stand up to Tata and stand up for their pension and they will have the full support of their union behind them.”
Industrial action ballots have to comply with strict legal requirements to protect the union from legal challenge and to guarantee members are protected from unfair dismissal when taking industrial action.
The union is in the process of obtaining legal advice from the union’s solicitors and carrying out preparatory work to ensure legal compliance.
The preparations need to be completed before ballot timelines are confirmed.
A spokesperson for Tata Steel said: “The unions and company have discussed the performance of the UK business and considered the challenges facing the pension scheme.
“We have been unable come to an agreement that would have enabled defined benefit benefit provision to continue and will be consulting employees on a proposal to close the defined benefit scheme to future accrual. It is proposed that future pension provision will be on a defined contribution basis.
“We remain committed to providing employees with competitive future pension provision.”
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