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Workers at Tata Steel have voted by almost 9-1 to go on strike in a row over pensions.

Staff at Tata’s Teesside bases in Lackenby, Skinningrove and Hartlepool were part of a national ballot in relation to a dispute over the company’s proposal to close the British Steel Pension Scheme.

The Community union is now calling for Tata to return to the negotiating table to seek a way to end the dispute.

The row centres over proposed changes to pensions, which could see staff retire at 65 instead of 60.

Staff with the GMB union have also voted in favour of strike action, while members of Unite will continue voting until next Friday.

Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary of Community and Chair of the National Steel Trade Union Co-ordinating Committee, said: “We stand on the brink of the first national strike in the steel industry for over 30 years.

“This is not where we wanted to be but Tata now has an opportunity to end this dispute by removing the threat of scheme closure and discussing alternative measures to resolve the challenges faced by the scheme, something the unions have been prepared to do since November last year.

“Throughout those discussions, the company said it needed to address a deficit of just under £1bn and the unions were prepared to look at measures that would have wiped that out, without closing the scheme.”

Mr Rickhuss said that members at Tata have “spoken loud and clear” and “have not been fooled by the company’s propaganda”.

“They have voted overwhelmingly for their pensions, their families and their futures,” continued Mr Rickhuss, who said the union will begin consultation with members on what action they want to take.

“Any action we do take will aim to cause maximum disruption to the company with minimum pain for our members. We hope this can be avoided if Tata return to the negotiating table with new proposals.”

Members of Community’s National Executive Council who work for Tata Steel will meet on Monday to discuss the next steps towards strike action.

In total 88% of those casting a vote supported strike action, with average turnout nationally above 76%.

Results of ballots UCATT members at Tata Steel are also expected today.

The ballot of Unite members closes on Friday 5 June.

A Tata Steel spokesman said: “The result of the pension ballots announced earlier today is disappointing given the company is proposing to continue providing employees with highly attractive and competitive pensions.

“Despite most final salary pension schemes having been closed, the company originally proposed to maintain final salary pension provision, but the company's proposal was rejected by the unions.

“The shortfall of up to £2bn faced by the pension scheme is not the fault of the company or its employees, but it can only be addressed if the company and its employees work together.

“The company has already stated to both the trade unions and employees, in response to the feedback received through the consultation process, that it intends to mitigate the impact of the proposed changes.

“We remain hopeful that employees will see that these proposals and the mitigations represent the most fair and balanced way of dealing with the deficit. We also remain hopeful that employees will avoid taking any action that damages our objective of building a successful and sustainable UK business capable of supporting a secure pension scheme.”

Earlier this week, Tata told workers that it planned to turn the Long Products Europe (LPE) arm of its business into a standalone subsidiary of Tata Steel Europe next month.

The company announced last October that it was in talks to sell the LPE to US billionaire Gary Klesch.

It is hoped the plans will allow the division – which employs around 700 at Teesside Beam Mill, in Redcar, and at Skinningrove special profiles – to access vital state funding.