Sale of Tata's underperforming long products unit, that could save thousands of steel jobs, may hinge on workers accepting new pensions deal and pay reforms
A deal to rescue Tata Steel’s struggling Scunthorpe plant and secure thousands of jobs in Britain’s beleaguered steel industry may hinge upon radical plans to reform pensions and pay.
Turnaround specialist Greybull is in exclusive talks about buying Tata’s so-called “long products” unit in the Lincolnshire town.
However, an agreement to sell parts of Tata’s loss-making European business could run into trouble over Greybull’s plans for a far-reaching restructuring to get the long products division back on its feet.
Greybull is understood to want to scrap the final-salary pension scheme, as well as introduce comprehensive changes to overtime pay and bonuses, in return for an immediate cash injection of up to £400m.
But last summer Tata staff threatened to strike over a planned shake-up of the pension scheme, which was in deficit by £2bn. It could have seen the end of its final-salary structure and workers having to work an extra five years before they were able to retire.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk