MacShane Holds Talks with Outokumpo on Job Losses

Denis MacShane today met Juha Rantanen, CEO of the Finnish stainless steel firm Outukumpo, to urge more support for workers facing redundancy at the company plant on the M1 between Rotherham and Sheffield.

The Rotherham MP urged a coordinated package of support from Yorkshire Forward, Objective One and the DTI to offer comprehensive re-training packages to the workers. "These skills should not be lost to the region," he said.

MacShane met with representatives of the Amicus and TGWU unions as well as local MPs Clive Betts, Kevin Barron, David Blunkett and Richard Caborn.

"It is very worrying to see one by one the big steel plants of South Yorkshire shut down. People want to buy the cheapest possible products from Meadowhall and Retail World and most of the metal products on sale today seem to be made in China. Yet there is a demand for construction and engineering products which British steel industry workers ought to have some share in," he said.