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Emergency meeting over future of steel
BEVAN SHIELDS - Illawarra Mercury
11 Apr, 2012 08:05 AM
An emergency meeting is being held in Melbourne this morning over the future of the nation’s steel industry.

In a newly released statement, Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Paul Howes claimed the industry was on the brink of collapse.

‘‘We have already seen over 1000 jobs go from BlueScope’s Port Kembla and Western Port plants and Onesteel has confirmed it will shed up to 430 jobs by the end of this financial year,’’ he said.

‘‘With numbers like these, there is no doubt the Australian dollar has continued to wreak havoc on our local steel manufacturers and we fear it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

"Steel is an important strategic resource and the last thing we want to see is another Newcastle scenario unfold in Port Kembla or Western Port which would leave Australia totally reliable on imports.’’

Federal Industry and Innovation Minister Greg Combet will address the meeting, which has been convened by the AWU.

BlueScope is preparing to brief unions on the current market conditions, Mr Howes added.