AT long last, we have meaningful dialogue over the fate of the 6,000 jobs under threat in the steel industry.

At long last, Corus has listened to the concerns raised by its employees, local communities and the Government at the scale of its proposed cutbacks and has promised to enter constructive discussions.

It is to the eternal shame of Corus that it has taken this long for it to get round the table.

There can be no easy way for any company to announce job losses. It is an occasion to be handled with sympathy, dignity and respect.

In recent months, these have been qualities distinctly lacking within the Corus management. Theirs has been an object lesson in how to conduct a public relations disaster.

The company began examining the option for job losses last year. That is when employees, the Government and the local communities should have been brought into the consultation process.

By stubbornly refusing to discuss alternative options, the image of Corus has changed in a matter of weeks from one of the most revered companies in the country to one of the least respected.

The only way it can begin to make amends is to ensure it goes into discussions over the next month with a genuinely open mind.

Corus will not be forgiven if these talks are a face-saving gimmick. It must not forget that the future of thousands of families and dozens of communities are at stake.

We do not pretend that Corus will have a change of heart. Indeed, the company yesterday gave every indication it was intent on going ahead with its proposals.

It has, after all, triggered the 90-day formal consultation process for redundancies, and it has said future talks will focus on issues of retraining, job creation and regional aid in order to mitigate the consequences of its restructuring programme.

Now, however, there exists a forum at which the unions, the Government and other interested parties can attempt to persuade Corus of the error of its short-sighted ways and persuade it to focus on the long-term well-being of its markets.