Steel

Steel producer, Tata, has announced that they intend to stop steel making in the UK including Port Talbot in south Wales. 15,000 people are in danger of losing their jobs but more importantly a whole chunk of the Country will lose what remained of its soul after the closure of the coal fields. It will also have a major effect on subsidiary services leading to possibly more unemployment.
There are calls for the Government to reNationalise the industry in the same way they did the Banks but have they the appetite to 'bail' out a community that traditionally votes for the socialists? There must be a temptation to teach them a lesson: voting Labour doesn't pay. However, the fact remains that the UK will always need finished steel products and will need to be self reliant. It is one of the core industries, necessary for the security of the Country and one that shouldn't be contracted out to foreign (and possibly, in the future, hostile,) competitors.
If the steel industry is rescued in part or whole, then the employees will become public servants, they will take the peoples' shilling, and the unions will then have the same status as those in charge of the junior doctors and school teachers. They will feel life is a lot easier dealing with 'soft' ministries rather than hardened industrial negotiators. Will they, too, want to flex their muscles by blackmailing the taxpayers of the UK with threats of industrial action if they do not get their way. At least they don't risk the embarrassment of LOSING their image of professionalism unlike the junior doctors and schoolteachers who are now threatening to unite in their demands against the taxpayers of the UK. This despite there being no risk of losing their jobs, comparatively good working conditions and the certainty of a decent pension when they retire. People who work in the public sector should never strike; if they don't like their deal they should maintain their dignity and resign.