BRITAIN'S crisis-hit steel industry needs urgent "life-saving surgery" to save it, industry experts warned yesterday.
Gareth Stace, director of industry lobby group UK Steel, also called on Westminster Business Secretary Sajid Javid to deliver promises he has made on moves to address some of the issues facing the industry.
His comments come amid fears Scotland's last two remaining major steel plants will face closure this week, ending more than 100 years of steelmaking history.
Steel giant Tata is expected to make an announcement on Tuesday on the future of plants at Dalzell in Motherwell and Clydebridge in Cambuslang, as well as Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. It is understood about 1,200 posts are affected, including up to 400 in Scotland.
On Friday the UK Government held a summit in Rotherham chaired by Javid to discuss the crisis hitting the industry, which has been impacted by plunging prices and cheap imports.
Last month it was announced the Redcar plant on Teeside was being mothballed with the loss of about 1,700 jobs.
Stace said: "Sajid Javid needs to deliver now, in days and weeks not months and years, on energy costs, business rates costs and fair trade."
"What I would say is that we need to stem this flow of blood, not with sticking plasters but now with life-saving surgery. The steel industry really is now in crisis."
Tata has not confirmed the job cuts, but has warned it has been facing challenges in the UK, including the strong pound.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to leave "no stone unturned" in seeking to rescue the Scottish steel industry.
She told the SNP party conference in Aberdeen on Saturday that a taskforce was being prepared to seek a viable future for the plants and the industry.
"The company has not yet publicly confirmed its plans," she said. "However, if our worst fears are realised next week, I can confirm that I will immediately establish a taskforce to work with the company, the trade unions and the relevant local authorities.
"And I promise this: we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find and secure a viable future for these plants and for our steel industry here in Scotland."
The Dalzell plant, which opened in 1872 and the Clydebridge plant, which opened in 1887, were once giants of the industry.
Scottish TUC leader Grahame Smith called for clarity from Tata over its plans.
He said: "This morning, hundreds of workers and their families have woken up with this hanging over them.
"We need immediate clarity from the company as to its intentions and a commitment that it will work with the unions, the workforce and the Scottish Government to ensure the future of steel production in Scotland."
Javid has said the UK government is committed to doing everything to support the industry and its workers but added there is "no straightforward solution to the complex global challenges facing the steel industry."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Since last year, when Tata Steel first announced the potential sale of its Long Products Division, the Scottish Government and its agencies have been in constant contact with both Tata Steel and with the trades unions.
"We continue to be in contact to explore all possible options to find a viable future for the company's sites in Scotland."
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