British trade unions call for job reassurance in Thyssenkrupp-Tata deal

Preliminary agreement would see a 50-50 joint venture to create the continent's No 2 steelmaker

Britain and its trade unions called on Wednesday for Germany's Thyssenkrupp and India's Tata Steel to keep previous commitments to safeguard Welsh jobs when they merge their European steel operations.

The fate of Tata's British businesses, including the UK's largest steelworks at Port Talbot in Wales, has been uncertain since Tata Steel said more than a year ago it planned to sell the British assets following heavy losses.

The preliminary agreement struck on Wednesday would see a 50-50 joint venture to create the continent's No.2 steelmaker.

In a joint statement, business minister Greg Clark and Roy Rickhuss, chair of the National Trade Union Steel Co-ordinating Committee said they welcomed the move "as long as commitments to safeguard jobs and extend blast furnace operations over the long term at Port Talbot were maintained".

They also said they were seeking reassurances on the relining of the site's second blast furnace.