Tata Steel was not immediately available for comment. Last month, Tata Steel UK offered British unions a deal guaranteeing jobs and investment in return for pension cuts. Tata, which employs some 4,000 people at Port Talbot and 11,000 in Britain as a whole, started formal pension consultations in December, with a view to moving employees on to a less generous defined contribution scheme. Unions are concerned that if they agree to let Tata close the current British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), the company will look to spin it off into a standalone entity that could eventually fall into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) if necessary. In March, Britain battled to save its steel industry after Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale, leaving thousands of jobs at risk as a result of cheap Chinese imports.