Matthew Horwood/Getty ImagesA “period of great uncertainty and anxiety” looms over Port Talbot ahead of mass job cuts at its steelworks next month, says a senior community leader.
With owner Tata Steel due to close its second blast furnace within weeks, deputy council leader Alun Llewelyn said Neath Port Talbot’s focus was “to try and give as much help” to those affected.
The UK government announced an initial £13.5m would be made available immediately to support businesses and workers, but Mr Llewelyn called for “decades” of aid.
Tata, which said it was losing £1m a day at the site, recognised the “uncertainty that workers are feeling”, but it had set up a “wide range of employee support mechanisms”.
Tata Steel closed the first blast furnace in July, and plans to shut the second by the end of September.
Adam Williams, who has worked at the steelworks for 18 years, opted to start his own window cleaning business in preparation.
“I decided to take matters into my own hands, rather than living in this vicious circle of being told I could lose my job,” he said.
“It really hasn’t hit home yet that it is coming to an end after 18 years, it’s going to be emotional when I finally get my finishing date, but at least I can see the next chapter.”
He described the workers’ mood as sombre: “We still haven’t had firm answers yet about what’s happening, but then again it hasn’t been agreed with unions yet, so you do understand it in that way. It’s just frustrating.”
When he found out in January he would be losing his job, he said “it was a worrying time”, and a lot of other jobs did not pay as much.
“I haven’t got many qualifications so I just wanted to see what I could do for myself.”
After seeing a friend running a successful window cleaning business, Adam who is originally from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and now lives in Skewen, close to Port Talbot, saw an opportunity to do the same.
He now often finishes a 12-hour steel shift, has a nap, and starts his other job.
“It is a lot. But the support has been fantastic. I’m booked up right until October, so it’s great.”
Councillor Alun Llewelyn said the council had been working with the transition board set up by the UK government to “ensure a way forward to create new employment and an economic future for Port Talbot”.
He said an information hub will opening at Aberafan shopping centre to help workers and companies in the supply chain.
But he called for continuing support from both the UK and Welsh governments “in order to replace the gap that’s being left by the jobs”.
“We’re very conscious that we could be losing skilled workers from the area,” he said.
“We want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to stay in the area, to obtain new work, to obtain new skills,” he added.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: “There are things happening here and now, and there will be things happening in the longer term.
“This is a government that has economic growth and clean energy by 2030 at the heart of its missions, and I believe Port Talbot can play a big role in that.”
Analysis
By Felicity Evans, BBC Wales money editor
Before the general election in July, when UK Labour was still in opposition, it was very critical of the then Conservative government’s approach to Tata’s plans for Port Talbot.
That Tory previous government had agreed to give the company £500m towards the building of a greener electric arc furnace.
And, along with Tata, it decided to create a £100m transition fund to help workers and the wider community cope with the fallout from the thousands of job losses that would result from the closure of the blast furnaces.
Labour promised a new approach and on taking power said it was in negotiations with the company and there was “a better deal available”.
Well, the clock is ticking: only one blast furnace remains operational at Port Talbot and it is still scheduled to close in September.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government is starting to spend the transition fund announced by its predecessor, but right now its game plan doesn’t seem much different.
Many players at Aberavon Harlequins, one of several rugby clubs in the town, are worried about the impact of the job cuts on the area.
About 2,000 jobs are expected to go by the end of next month, along with many more contractor and supply chain roles.
Thomas Morley, 30, called it “gutting for the community”.
He said: “I’m the third generation of my family to have worked there, my grandpa was there, my father was there, and I was offered a job there by luck.”
He worked at the plant for three years, before leaving to find another job in IT, and said the “lack of communication” from the company caused the most concern for many of his friends still there.
“What’s happened has been flung on the town and nothing has really been said since.
“We need to see that they care and there are plans in place, otherwise the investment in the town is going to collapse.”
Morgan Evans, 24, said “half” of his family worked in the steelworks, and “the stress is affecting everyone involved”.
He said: “I’ve lived here all my life, and every day I look over to the steelworks, it’s part of the identity of the town.
“My father, auntie, uncle, multiple cousins, one of my best friends, all work there.
“It’s such an uncertain time for everyone, the stress is affecting not just the workers but their families too.”
The Welsh government said it had “worked closely with Tata Steel, unions, the supply chain and local partners for well over a decade”, and “made no secret about our concerns regarding the timeframe around the transition, and are under no illusions about the impact it will have for so many, particularly in and around Port Talbot”.
It said that working with the UK government and others it was “reinforcing that commitment to ensure that the Tata workforce, its supply chain and local communities are supported not only in the short term but long into the future”.
Tata Steel said: “We very much recognise the uncertainty that workers are feeling as we restructure our business in order to stem losses of £1million a day”.
It added it had a wide range of employee support programmes available including a mental health hub, and the company is helping employees “become accredited with formal qualifications”.
The spokesperson added work on its voluntary redundancy programme was ongoing.