THOUSANDS of people are expected to take part in a rally on Teesside in support of the closure- threatened Corus plant, The Northern Echo learnt last night.

The rally, which will involve many of the 3,000 workers at the Corus Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant and thousands of employees from many of the site’s supply companies, will be held in Redcar, east Cleveland, on Saturday, July 18.

Union leaders from across the UK are also likely to attend. People will march along the town’s seafront before congregating for the rally in the high street to highlight the plight of TCP, which has faced an uncertain future since a deal to buy 80 per cent of the plant’s output was terminated.

Negotiations have reached a stalemate between Corus and the international steel-buying consortium, led by Italian-based Marcegaglia, with the consortium accusing Corus of pointing a “legal revolver” through its insistence to take court action to preserve the ten-year agreement, which was due to last until 2014.

The Northern Echo exclusively revealed how Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week stepped in and met Corus parent group Tata Steel, and pledged every assistance to ensure the plant’s future, which has now been secured until August thanks to orders from within the Corus group.

Yesterday, it was revealed that permission had been given to stage the rally, to demonstrate the level of support for the future of TCP and the impact it has on the community. The effect of TCP’s potential closure has already been seen through PD Ports’ announcement that it would be cutting 120 jobs to help it minimise the knock-on effect of the lack of work from Corus, its biggest client.

Bob Bolam, regional organiser for the Unite union and one of the rally organisers, said: “Corus not only employs thousands of people, but it helps to sustain thousands more jobs across Teesside.

“We are holding this rally for workers and their families, local dignitaries and national union leaders, to highlight the current position we are in, and show how vital it is to the area and the Teesside economy that it remains open.”

Anyone participating in the rally is asked to meet at 1pm, in Redcar’s Majuba car park. The march starts at 2pm.