Sale of British Steel to Turkish military fund worries British unions
Representatives of trade unions and members of parliament have expressed serious concerns about the possibility of selling the second largest metallurgical plant in Great Britain British Steel to the Turkish military pension fund.
Ataer Holdings, owned by Turkish army pension fund Oyak, has been in exclusive negotiations for the purchase of bankrupt British Steel for more than two months, and the results of the discussions are likely to be announced within a few weeks.
Turkish investments are expected to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant as well as work for over 4,000 employees.
But reports of alleged "atrocities committed during the Turkish army's invasion of Syria" have raised fears among Metcobinat staff, union bosses and MPs about the possibility of British Steel being included in Oyak's investment portfolio, which funds pension payments to Turkish soldiers.
British negotiators have put forward conditions to ensure that the Scunthorpe production site will not be used to supply the Turkish military in the future.
Unions are wary of publicly voicing concerns for fear of disrupting negotiations that could save members' jobs.
One union source said there were concerns that Scunthorpe could eventually be used to produce steel that could be used in Turkish military operations.
“Our top priority is to provide 4,000 jobs,” the source said. “Ataer Holdings is the buyer, but the parent company's direct ties with Turkish military and political ties to Erdogan are a problem we want to distance ourselves from. We want to see detailed investment plans and make sure that British Steel is not going to end up funding the Turkish war machine, ”The Guardian quotes its source.
Nevertheless, the British combine has a "B" option. If negotiations with Oyak do not lead to a deal, it could be bought by the Chinese steel company Jingye, which has expressed interest in buying British Steel.