ON JANUARY 2, 1980, thousands of steelworkers across the UK downed tools in support of a pay rise.

The strike would last 13 weeks, and although the workers were eventually largely successful in their aims, it was a period of hardship and uncertainty for many families.

Sean Edwards was nine years old at the time. In his poem, The Steel Strike, he remembers growing up in Newport at this pivotal moment in his family's history, with his steelworker father taking up his place on the picket line.

Sean Edwards, pictured with his wife Michelle

Steel workers attending a rally in Newport in 1980 during the National Steel Strike. Picture: South Wales Argus archive

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"Times were tough," Mr Edwards, of Underwood, said. "I remember dad watching [the developments] on TV every night.

"Because we were kids, they kept a lot from us.

"But we knew things were different. All of a sudden we were having school dinner tickets because there was no money."

The reality of the situation hit home one afternoon, Mr Edwards said, when he found out his father was among a group of strikers who had been arrested.

Pickets at the Alphasteel site during the National Steel Strike of 1980. Picture: South Wales Argus archive

"They were picketing and trying to stop lorries," he said. "Dad was sheepish about it, but I think he was trying to protect himself, as they all were."

In his poem, Mr Edwards said the strikers' eventual pay rise was "a hollow victory" because of the redundancies which followed.

Later, Mr Edwards followed his father into the profession, and has worked in Llanwern for 33 years.

A man is led away from Alpha Steel during the National Steel Strike of 1980. Picture: South Wales Argus archive

But in that time he has seen the decline of the once-booming industry which employed so many people in the area.

"Every house back then had a steelworker in it, and now it has changed so much," he said. "I could probably count the steelworkers in my area on one hand now.

"At the time of the strike there were 8,000 working in Llanwern alone."

The mothballing of the Orb Electrical Steels plant has cast further uncertainty over the long-term future of steel production in the region, but Mr Edwards said the quality of locally-manufactured steel showed how important it was to keep the industry alive.

"We've got a good product in Llanwern – one of the best," he said. "Long may it continue."

Then-Newport East MP Roy Hughes on a march through Newport during the National Steel Strike in 1980. Picture: South Wales Argus archive

The Argus is running a petition calling for the UK Government to step in and save the Orb plant.

Download the petition at https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/resources/files/123420

Print it out, sign it, get your friends and family to sign it and drop it into the Argus office in Cardiff Road, Maesglas, Newport, NP20 3QN.

The Steel Strike by Sean Edwards

I was just a young boy,

But I remember it well.

Memories of a strike,

I’ve a story to tell.

An industry was in discussion,

Steel was in the news.

The management and workers,

Had differing views.

What the workers wanted,

The Management wouldn’t give.

A pay rise warranted,

So, a steelworker could live.

So, a battle was set,

Over thirteen weeks of toil.

When temperatures would rise,

In fact, they would boil.

And an industry came to a standstill,

Tools were laid down.

Production would stop,

In every Steel town.

My Father was on strike,

On the picket line he would stand.

Proud with his brothers,

As barricades were manned.

Families would struggle,

Money would be tight.

Yet together they would endure,

They were up for the fight.

A battle for a wage,

The fairest of deal.

Concessions from the hierarchy,

A future in Steel.

And for over three months,

Steelmaking was on hold.

Then back to work they would go,

A victory story was told.

A rise was attained,

But pain would then follow.

It seemed like a victory,

Yet a victory that was hollow.

Slim line would come,

Many jobs would then go.

Steel communities would then suffer,

The ultimate blow.

Thousands upon thousands,

Redundancies would await.

And many proud steelworkers,

Awaited their fate.

My Father was a lucky one,

I would eventually follow his lead.

Picking up a wage,

With a family to feed.

Now over forty years have passed,

Since those steelworkers came out.

When they stood out in the cold,

And defiance they would shout.

I will always remember,

I will never forget.

Those proud, proud steelworkers,

A time of anguish and fret.