THE historic deal signed earlier this year by Thai firm Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) removed a dark cloud hanging over hundreds of Teesside jobs.
The agreement to take over Teesside Cast Products, in Redcar, will create 800 jobs on top of the existing workforce of 700.
Without SSI, the Teesside economy would have suffered a huge blow – and a consortium which reneged on a previous deal would have carried much of the responsibility.
The consortium, comprising Marcegaglia, Dongkuk, Duferco and Terium Procurement, pulled out half-way through a ten-year agreement with Tata Steel, which then owned Teesside Cast Products.
Yesterday, it was announced that the consortium has agreed to pay £80m in compensation to Tata Steel after an International Court of Arbitration ruled that the termination of the agreement was not valid.
The reality is that it will not have a direct bearing on Teesside’s worldclass steelworkers, who are now in the hands of SSI and looking forward to what appears to be a bright, long-term future.
But the people of Teesside have a strong sense of fair play and the simple truth is that the consortium did not play fair.
It breached an agreement and that could easily have led to a proud industry being shut down with terrible consequences for local communities.
We welcome the fact that justice has come at a price of £80m.
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