Posted 12th June 2007 - From the Office of Graham Allen MP, Labour Delivers Extra Holidays for up to Six Million Workers, 12 June 2007 [Download Word document]
The country's biggest employer of disabled workers is to close 43 factories under cost-cutting plans, unions were told today. The scale of closures planned by Remploy is worse than unions were expecting and sparked warnings of a national strike. The company employs 5,000 disabled staff in 83 factories
manufacturing a variety of goods for companies. Unions were told today that 32 factories will close altogether and a further 11 will merge with other sites, leading to a total of 43 closures, more than half of the company's number of plants.
Phil Davies, national officer for the GMB union, said every part of Britain will be hit by closures, including Aberdare, Abertillery and Bridgend, Treforest and Wrexham in Wales, Bradford, Halifax, Leicester, Manchester, Southend, Wigan and York in England and Lanarkshire in Scotland.
``We do not accept this level of closures and we will fight to maintain the current factory network. ``The trade unions do not accept the financial arguments that have been put forward and we are concerned at the way the company has
conducted itself in the last few weeks, including leaking information to the media.''
Mr Davies also criticised six charities which have supported the closure plans, accusing them of acting in a ``despicable manner''. He said unions will now consult with their members but he raised the prospect of a national industrial action ballot across all 5,000 workers employed at the factories.
Les Woodward, a disabled worker based in Swansea, south Wales, said:
``We feel frustrated and totally betrayed by the company and the Government.
``This has come as a complete shock to us all - we did not expect such decimation. They have declared war on us.''
Jennie Formby, national officer of Unite, said: ``Trade unions are not just arguing for the status quo. Our alternative business plan has been fully costed and not only would maintain all 83 factories but looks at greatly developing and enhancing their role to provide considerable expansion opportunities for the whole disabled community.
Remploy said 2,270 disabled people and 280 non-disabled workers were affected by the changes. The company said no disabled person would be made compulsorily redundant and anyone wishing to continue working would be able to do so.
Bob Warner, Remploy's chief executive, said: ``We have a great opportunity to help more disabled people find jobs. But we have to change how we work in all areas of Remploy. ``There is now an acceptance that disabled people would prefer to work in mainstream employment alongside non-disabled people rather
than in sheltered workshops from which they do not progress and develop.''
Mr Warner said every job in a Remploy factory costs more than £20,000 to support and for the same money the company can place four people in jobs with mainstream employers. Remploy said it had an ``ambitious'' programme to transfer resources from loss-making factories to support more than 20,000
disabled people into jobs in mainstream employment every year.
As well as the factory closures and mergers, there will also be reductions in management and central overheads. Remploy said it will work with other local employers to find jobs in mainstream employment for people affected by today's
announcement.
A group of Remploy workers, some in wheelchairs, staged a protest outside a central London hotel where Remploy held a news conference to announce the closures. They held banners which read ``Save our Factories'' and shouted
that they wanted to keep their jobs. Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, said: ``We have committed over half a billion pounds to Remploy for the next five
years to help the business modernise so it can employ many more disabled people. ``I understand the concerns that Remploy's proposals will raise for
some employees. However, I have already given an undertaking that there will be no compulsory redundancies for disabled employees.
``I am also pleased that the company propose an unprecedented support package, including keeping the same levels of pay and pensions to help employees through the transition and to ensure they continue to enjoy meaningful employment.''
Mr Warner told a news conference that the company had to rebalance
its priorities because the factories were now losing around £100 million a year.
Even after the closures it will still cost around £9,000 a year to subsidise every job and Mr Warner said he could give no guarantee that there would not be any further closures. The company will stop manufacturing household and toiletry goods following the closure of its factory in St Helens, which Mr Warner
blamed on competition from Eastern European countries. Remploy is also reducing factories in each of its businesses through the ``slimming down'' process, said Mr Warner. He said he hoped there would not be a strike over the decision, warning that industrial action could lead to further losses of customers which could affect even more jobs.
The following factories will close: Aberdare, Aberdeen, Abertillery, Aintree, Ashington, Bradford, Bridgend, Brixton (London), Halifax, Hartlepool, Hillington (Glasgow), Hull, Leatherhead, Leicester, Lydney (Forest of Dean), Manchester,
Mansfield, Medway, Pinxton (Derbyshire), Plymouth, Poole, St Helens, Southend, Spennymoor, Stockton, Treforest, Wigan, Wisbech, Wishaw
(Lanarkshire), Worksop, Wrexham and York.
The following factories will merge with another site: Barnsley, Birkenhead, Brynamman, Jarrow, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Pontefract, Redruth, Southampton, Stockport, Woolwich (London) and Ystradgynlais.
Posted 16th January 2007 - 6 Million Workers Set For New Holiday Entitlement - Graham Allen MP welcomed the Government's proposals to increase workers' holiday entitlement from 20 days per year to 28.Read full article
