LONDON: Top UK steelmakers have called on the government to increase help to the sector after SSI UK, the country’s second largest steelmaker, halted production last week, calling into question its future and putting thousands of jobs at risk.

The calls came as UK unions said that if SSI UK fails it could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds in redundancy and clean-up costs. SSI UK is a subsidiary of Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), Thailand’s biggest steelmaker.

Specifically, the steelmakers want the government to bring forward plans to compensate them for carbon permit costs and are also calling for lower business rates, which they say can be five to 10 times higher than in the EU.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) said it has to date provided steelmakers with over £47 million in compensation for carbon pollution costs and voted to extend anti-dumping measures on certain Chinese steel products.