Teeside Manufacturing Rally Planned

A rally to highlight the plight of Teesside’s manufacturing sector is set to take place next month.

Unions are currently making preparations for the event which they hope will be held in Middlesbrough town centre on Saturday, February 13.

Tees Valley’s steel industry is set to be hit hard with the Teesside Cast Products plant due to be mothballed at the end of the month with the loss of 1,700 direct jobs.

Corus bosses and union leaders are due to come together for the meeting of the newly established taskforce, set up to look at all the options for TCP

The taskforce was set up last month following talks between the National Trade Union Steel Co-ordinating Committee and members of the Teesside multi-union committee with senior Corus chiefs - including Kirby Adams, chief executive of Tata Steel Europe.

Meanwhile Teesside’s chemical sector has faces a series of closures announcements including Invista, Dow, Croda and Elementis.

In November chemical bosses revealed a 10-point action plan to ensure the future of the sector at Wilton and its sister sites, with leading industry figures appointed to personally power through the changes.

Planning is under way for the rally - with more details to be finalised next week.

A rally was held in Redcar last summer in support of the closure-threatened TCP plant.

Thousands of people took to the streets in a massive show of support for steel jobs.