No work forces steel staff home

The reduced work policy will continue until further notice

Around 500 workers at the Corus steel plant near Newport, south Wales are being allowed to stay home on half their basic pay due to a lack of work.

Corus said an agreement had been reached with union officials at Llanwern and the announcement was made at a mass meeting of staff on Monday.

A similar policy will be looked at for the Corus Port Talbot plant.

Staff who go into work will get full basic pay but won't get paid shift premiums which is 30% of their wage.

Workers who choose not to go into work will however be paid half the shift premium rate as well.

The "guaranteed working week" policy at Llanwern, which employs around 1,000, will begin on Sunday.

A spokesman for the steel giant said the arrangement will continue "until further notice."

Extremely disappointing

Last month it emerged that there was virtually no production under way at Llanwern.

A spokesman also said that it was Corus's intention to look at a similar policy in Port Talbot but that the numbers would not be anything like that seen in Llanwern.

Community Union National Officer Roy Rickhuss described the move as an "extremely disappointing development".

He said the union will be monitoring the application of the guaranteed week agreement "to ensure that Corus provides appropriate notice and support for employees".

Mr Rickhuss also said the union will continue to hold talks with Corus to manage the effects of the economic downturn.

Corus is evaluating the situation at sites across the country due to the reduction in demand.

Late last year, Corus announced that one of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot would be temporarily mothballed for December and January.

The company said that arrangement has now been extended until around April, although that is an estimate.

In December, unions representing the 25,000 UK workforce of the steelmaker rejected a proposal for workers to take a 10% pay cut.

While the unions said talks would continue with Corus, they said they needed more details of the firm's plans for 2009.