THE NORTH-EAST construction industry will get a major boost next month when hundreds of temporary workers are handed the job of bringing an iconic steel plant back to life.

The latest phase in the turnaround of the Teesside Cast Product's (TCP) facility in Redcar will see up to 1,500 engineers work on the five month start-up programme before the blast furnace at the partially mothballed site is fired-up.

Thai steel firm Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), which completed its £291m takeover of the plant from Tata Steel UK in March, is taking-on platers, welders, pipe-fitters, riggers and electricians who will play a vital role in the return of steelmaking to the plant. A number of staff are already on site but the majority will begin work next month.

Union leaders who have been in discussions with representatives of SSI, have praised the firm, in particular its president Win Viriyaprapaikit, for agreeing to honour the national agreement between employers and the engineering trade unions which protects workers pay and conditions. The terms of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI), commonly known as the "Blue Book", also means that the company is encouraged to recruit local workers wherever possible.

GMB representative Jimmy Skivington, who has been involved in the latest round of discussions with SSI, said: "Under the terms of the national agreement local labour needs to be taken into consideration when they are employing people, and in my opinion that is how it should be. When all is said and done it was the local community who campaigned tirelessly to save the facility, so it is only right that they get the chance to work there."

The process of recruiting 800 permanent steelworkers, on top of the existing workforce of 700, has already begun. Mr Skivington said the hundreds of short-term jobs that are being created in the upcoming weeks would bring some much-needed good news to the beleaguered construction sector.

"It is fantastic confirmation for an industry which needs all of the jobs it can get right now. It is especially pleasing that this has been done under the national agreement in consultation with union representatives.

"The SSI president said that he would reward people in North-East and adhere to employment custom and practice. Up to now, he has been true to his word. Sadly, we often see employers in the UK failing to work within the terms of the national agreement, so it is pleasing to see a company from Thailand doing the right thing by its staff. It augurs well for our future relationship with the firm."