BY RYAN FLETCHER THE FIRE Struggling – many are finding it tough since SSI’s closure
But success stories like Lee’s are rare among the steelworkers, many of whom have had to accept drastic cuts in their living standards. As Labour’s Redcar MP Anna Turley pointed out, “you can’t just recreate and replace those jobs overnight, or suddenly expect people to become entrepreneurs.”
For older steelworkers like 53-year-old Jim the loss of Redcar’s economic backbone, and a way of life that spanned generations, is especially difficult to get used to.
Jim explained, “I worked there for 33 years and it was like a second family – it was a big part of all our lives and now it’s just gone. After the closure I sold my
motorbike and my car and began sharing one car with my wife. I pick up the odd bit of work here and there but we can’t afford luxuries anymore.
“We’re just managing to survive, but the things we’ve lost aren’t that much of a big deal when you consider there are lads struggling to pay their mortgages. There are still some big companies around but I worry for my daughter’s and even my granddaughter’s future. It’s going to take 20 or 30 years before there’s any change for the better.”
Long term plans for the region have been set up in the form of an inward investment programme, as well as a
15 uniteWORKS Autumn 2016 Find out more HERE
mayoral development corporation that will help devolve business and regeneration powers – with a particular emphasis on finding a new purpose and investors for the steelworks site. But Unite’s regional officer for Redcar, Pat McCourt, said any regional initiatives need to include substantial central government support for manufacturing.
He told uniteWORKS, “There needs to be a re-establishment of the country’s manufacturing base, including protections and investment for the industries – such as steel making – that are required for a stable economy. And the only way that’s going to happen is through the election of a Labour government.”
Mark Pinder
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