Elliot Morley. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Nov. 3: The popular mandate in Scunthorpe, where Corus has its iron ore and steel plant, is partnering with Tata Steel rather than be ing taken over, says Elliot Morley, ex-member of Parliament from Scunthrope constituency in United Kingdom.

Morley was in the steel city as a panel member of an event organised by British Council.

Closely associated with Corus, Morley said: “Currently, employees are nervous which is natural with any change of this magnitude. But they want jobs and don’t bother about who the employer is.”

Also representing the former employees of Corus who received pension, he said it was reassuring that Tata Steel has promised to fulfil all that the management of the Corus had committed to.

“I had disagreed in the past with Corus regarding huge job losses, but in recent times Corus has and performed brilliantly,” adds Morley.

Corus’s strength of 22,000 employees has been reduced to 4,000 though their steel production has increased. Tata Steel has said there will be no change in the immediate future regarding employment.

A 100 years ago, Scunthrope was a cluster of five villages. Though small, it is a steel works-dominated industrial town and employment and education opportunities are strong. The iron ore is situated right next to the Corus plant, though now mining is not economically viable, he said.

Analysts predict that Tata Steel’s iron ore reserves would be of great advantage. Though it will not export raw ore but its value added slabs would be used as raw material by Corus, which manufactures speciality steel. Commenting on the Tata-Corus deal, Morley says: “I have been closely associated with the steel group during discussions. Any decision would have repercussions in a constituency where I’m answerable for people’s welfare.”

He added that Tata’s reach in emerging markets could be of advantage to Corus. While Corus had been looking for possibilities in Russia and Brazil, after the Mittal-Arcelor deal, the Tatas became an obvious choice.

Corus is a part of an European Union agreement, which has prescribed limits of emissions and stress to reduce energy use. As a benefit of abiding by the deal, Corus gets 80 per cent discount on taxes.

Though Tata Steel in India will not come under the rule, it could use Corus’s mechanisms to be more environment-friendly said Morley,.