The Government has announced that Remploy, which provides displayed people with employment opportunities, is to close half of its 54 factories due to substantial financial losses.
27 of the 54 commercial properties will close between now and December, forcing 1421 people out of work. But people currently employed by Remploy are resisting the closures and plan to go on strike in protest over the next two weeks.
Speaking of the protest action, Phil Davies the GMB union national officer said: “To close these factories that employ disabled people in the present economic climate is a sentence to a life of unemployment and poverty.
“The strikes will go ahead on July 19 and 26 as planned and should be a rallying point, giving each local community the opportunity to stand behind these disabled workers who will be facing the scrapheap.”
According to the Government, the Remploy commercial properties lost around £68 million last year and cost the Government £320 million to run – something which they say could be spent more efficiently on disabled employment. The Government plans to redistribute the money helping individual people rather than running commercial properties.
The commercial properties which will be closing are located throughout the UK, including: Bolton, Leeds, Manchester, North London, Oldham, Pontefract, Southampton, Wigan and Worksop.
But it is not all doom and gloom for the employees of Remploy as a package worth £8 million has been set up to help those workers find new jobs. Services available include:
Are you a Remploy employee? Are you affected by the Remploy closures? Share your stories below.
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