Mae Sioned Williams AS yn ysgrifennu am yr sgil-effaith penderfyniad Tata
Cyhoeddwyd yr erthygl hon yn Glamorgan Gazette ddydd Iau 9 Mai 2024 (yn Saesneg).
It’s fair to say that the future of Tata Steel in Port Talbot has been weighing heavy on many people’s minds, for a very long time.
The news we heard at the end of April, that Tata had finished consulting with Unions and were going ahead with plans to get rid of 2,800 jobs, and shut both blast furnaces, came with a sickening inevitability.
The news doesn't just impact the workforce in Port Talbot and their families, but all the businesses and retail outlets that rely on a 4,000-strong workforce in Port Talbot - of which there are hundreds, not to mention all the people employed by those businesses – of which there are thousands.
These people, who mostly live in the communities I represent, need to know what their government is doing to help.
Because there are things that Welsh Government can do, even if much of the economic power lies with Westminster.
Firstly, Welsh Government must obtain the information from Tata steel which will indicate which jobs in the supply chain will be lost so that these people can get access to all the support available.
Secondly, they need to explore every available route to save as many as possible of those thousands of jobs – both in terms of the jobs at Tata, and in terms of all the businesses that rely on the steel industry in Wales.
Thirdly, they mustn’t wait in the hope of a Labour Government getting in at Westminster, because by that time it will be too late and we will have lost the blast furnaces which will seal the fate of those workers.
Welsh Government has talked about support they are planning for the wider community, but my further request to them is that they need to ensure that those who are going to be affected are actually involved in those plans. The community has had so much done to it, with very little say, that it’s imperative that the community's voice is fully heard as it navigates this difficult future.