TATA'S DUTCH STEELWORKERS SAY: "WE WON'T LET THEM WRECK OUR PLANT"

With Tata Steel's troubled British operations up for sale, Dutch workers at its only other European site for primary steelmaking are in defensive mood, and yet the plant may have a bright future.

"We won't let them wreck our plant" is their motto, directed at top managers of the Indian-owned group ; some of the 9,000 staff at the IJmuiden plant on the Dutch North Sea coast even wear it to work on their safety helmets.

The slogan dates from contract talks last year but shows their defiant spirit during uncertain times for a European steel industry beset by overcapacity and cheap Chinese competition.