There is increasing optimism that BlueScope Steel's No 5 blast furnace will restart earlier than predicted, and possibly as early as August.The earlier restart would be a major economic triumph for the region in the face of the global financial crisis and a great relief for the Port Kembla steelworks' 6000 direct and contracted workers.After the company scrapped the original June start-up date in May due to the tough times, it was flagged in some quarters that the event might not occur this year.
Port Kembla No 5 blast furnace reline winds upBut workers on the site of the blast furnace, which has undergone a successful $372 million reline, portray a more positive picture.Several BlueScope workers confirmed to the Mercury the furnace was being prepared for the possibility of a start-up from mid August onwards and report an increase in activity at the steelworks."The No 6 furnace, which at one point was stopping every couple of days, has been running steadily," one source said."Things are also starting to improve in the hot strip mill where there's been less stops, which indicates they're getting more orders."The restart would be a four-to-six week process costing about $20 million.Officially, BlueScope says it is not expecting to announce a decision to restart the furnace before August 17, when it reveals its financial year results.A spokesman has played down the likelihood of an August start.But in recent months there has been an improvement in global steel demand and pricing trends, led by a resumed appetite in China.BlueScope management will be closely watching the international market in coming weeks, in particular whether the increase in demand translates into extra orders.Due of its stock market responsibilities, the company always remains tight-lipped about any major announcements or changes likely to affect its business levels.BlueScope has tried to weather the impact of the global financial crisis without inflicting large-scale job losses, and has been particularly co-operative with trade unions over issues such as job multi-tasking.It also recently offered employees an "early bird" retirement option, which included a $7350 tax-free lump sum and termination payment.But Australian Workers' Union branch secretary Andy Gillespie said only about half a dozen employees at Port Kembla, mainly those about 65 years old, had accepted the packages by the June 30 cut-off."Only some older guys considered it," he said. "It was a shit offer. They can get many times more than that via a redundancy," Mr Gillespie said.In addition, BlueScope will not conduct general salary reviews or pay bonuses this year after a decrease in orders over the past 12 months."We felt it would not be appropriate to award bonuses or salary increases at a time when we are unable to pay our shareholders a final dividend," a spokesman said yesterday."This decision relates to all salaried staff and includes members of the board, the chief executive and executive leadership team."All existing agreed wage increases for employees covered by awards will be honoured," the BlueScope spokesman said.
