Message from Corus boss to workers

Oct 18 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

WORKERS at Teesside’s threatened steel plant will have to raise their game if they are to avoid the axe.

That’s the astonishing declaration made by Balasubramanian Muthuraman, managing director of Tata Steel in India and the overall boss of the Corus steel plant in Redcar, where thousands of jobs hang in the balance.

Up to 4,000 Teesside-based Corus employees and contractors face redundancy after a consortium pulled out of a 10-year deal to continue producing steel from the plant, effectively mothballing it, and the workers only have orders to keep them busy to December.

They have the backing of local politicians and civic leaders – even Middlesbrough Football Club – in their battle to Save Our Steel . . . yet Mr Muthuraman of Tata Steel says the Teesside operation must reduce costs and become more competitive in order to survive.

He makes the remarkable comments in this week’s edition of the BBC’s Inside Out documentary series, in which presenter Chris Jackson journeys to Tata headquarters in India and secures a rare interview with the director.

Mr Muthuraman is asked if Teesside has done enough to reduce costs and says: “No, I believe they need to do something more, something much more.

“And I can also tell you the future of Teesside is also in the hands of the employees of Teesside.”

His words will infuriate the workers who live under constant threat of closure.