Steelworkers union denies offering to take a pay cut
As reported recently there have been strong rumours that unions representing the workforce of Corus, the worldwide steel business, are looking to hammer out a deal with the company which will see pay cuts across the board for the next six months in order to save at least one factory earmarked for closure. However, the unions are currently denying this claim although they agree they have an imminent meeting with representatives of Corus and income levels are likely to be discussed.
This is a serious development in the downturn of the UK economy and there are concerns that the unions are giving away too much to businesses in the short term. However, faced with potentially thousands of job cuts you could argue the rumoured move from the unions is a sensible approach which appears to have been well thought through. Quite what will happen with regards to Corus and many other large employers in the UK remains to be seen but there will certainly be big changes over the coming months.
If the car manufacturing industry does receive some kind of financial injection from the government there is speculation that steel bosses will step forward with their begging bowls to see what they can find.
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