HUNDREDS of steelworkers from across Britain will descend on Brussels on Monday as part of a Europe-wide demonstration against the EU’s failure to protect the beleaguered industry.

Members of the Community, GMB and Unite unions will take part in the protest outside the European Parliament demanding that tougher action is taken to save the steel industry.

Britain’s Tory government’s complete refusal to act has led to thousands of jobs going across northern England, Wales and Scotland.

Community general secretary Roy Rickhuss said steelworkers across Europe were suffering.

“Unions and businesses are joining together and with one voice demanding our governments back our steel industry.

“Instead of showing leadership in Europe [the British government is] blocking tougher penalties for steel dumping and backing market economy status for China.

“The UK and Europe cannot afford to lose its steelmaking capacity, so our government and the European Commission desperately need to start defending our industry and demonstrating that their actions match their warm words.”

The EU added to steelworkers’ anger last week, deciding to impose a paltry duty of 9.2-13 per cent on Chinese rebar, with the GMB saying Brussels was “either sleep-walking or deliberately allowing the destruction of the UK steel industry.”

GMB national officer Dave Hulse said: “The EU Commission has done next to nothing to save steel jobs. The EU Commission is now directly responsible for bringing more misery to the industry that has been rocked with job losses and communities that are being destroyed.

“We need Prime Minister [David] Cameron to get off the fence and forcefully tell Brussels that this toothless action will do nothing whatsoever to assist the UK steel industry.”

Unions will march alongside representatives of Tata Steel and other employers to voice their demands for increased duties on imports from China, Russia and elsewhere.

Tata Steel’s European CEO Karl Koehler warned that thousands of steelmaking jobs — and thousands more in the supply chain — will be threatened if the EU doesn’t take “immediate and robust action.”

Unite steel officer Harish Patel said: “Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods in the UK and across Europe rely on the steel industry which faces a bleak and uncertain future if the governments and the EU fail to act swiftly and decisively. Politicians need to act now to save our steel.”

But Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths went further, saying membership of the EU was the key problem.

“Britain imports seven times more steel from the EU than it does from China,” he pointed out.

“Together with the high energy prices charged by our privatised energy cartels and the EU bans on state aid to industry and import controls, this poses the mortal threat to British steel.

“The government should do everything necessary — including a return to public ownership — to secure the future of this vital strategic industry, regardless of EU treaties or regulations.”