Steel workers in Port Talbot are being encouraged to attend a meeting tonight over plans by steel giant Tata to close the British Steel pension scheme.

Tata directly employs around 3,500 people in Port Talbot and around 7,000 across Wales and last month announced its intention to close the British Steel Pension scheme.

It is understood the meeting will take place tonight (April 8) at the former Steel Company of Wales (SCOW) Club, Margam.

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Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary of the Community trade union, said: “Tata Steel’s decision to close the BSPS is unnecessary and profoundly disappointing.

“It is not a position we expected to find ourselves in given that trade unions have been in discussions with the company since early November.

“Throughout a long process we have acted in good faith and negotiated constructively in trying to reach an agreement which addresses what we acknowledge to be a significant deficit in the scheme.

“We have made every effort to compromise with the company, even discussing the possibility of meeting the deficit through changes to member benefits, despite the fact the company is legally obliged to pay for the deficit and has always done so in the past.

“We have lost all faith in the company and its leadership, which has brought us to the brink of a major national industrial dispute for the first time in over 30 years."

A Tata spokesman said: "The company tabled proposals to the national officers of the trade unions whereby the defined benefit (final salary) scheme would remain open to future accruals subject to a number of modifications.

"As agreement with the trade unions on these proposals could not be reached, the company has initiated a 60-day statutory consultation period with scheme members on a proposal to close the scheme to future accruals for existing members.

"The consultation process provides opportunities for employees to comment on the proposals and to suggest alternatives that they wish the company to consider, other than the proposal of closure to future accrual.

"The company also remains committed to providing employees with competitive future pension provision."