Unions fight to save Remploy factories

THE future of staff at one of the region’s biggest employers of disabled people is hanging in the balance following calls for voluntary redundancies.

The Government said the future of Remploy, which helps disabled people find work, was under consideration following a review of quangos last year.

The organisation, which has a base in Ashton Road, Bardsley, trebled the number of people it helped find jobs in the North-West between 2009 and 2010.

Major employees like BT, Asda and Poundland say that employees recruited through Remploy take less time off and stay in the job longer than other staff members.

But calls for voluntary redundancy could see around 1,500 job losses across the country and unions say the redundancies will be the harshest cuts announced by the coalition so far.

Remploy said it was constantly seeking to improve efficiency, adding that the scheme being offered to staff in its Enterprise Businesses and Central Service was “entirely voluntary”.

The firm said its factory businesses had suffered under the current economic climate with many operating at less than 50 per cent capacity.

A spokesperson said: “As a result Remploy is not fulfilling its mission to provide sustainable employment opportunities for disabled people.

“We will ensure that any employee who decides to leave and wants to continue working will have guaranteed support from our employment services to find another job.”

GMB national officer Phil Davies said: “The factory sites have since been starved of work because of an incompetent and overpaid management.

“The trade unions will not accept this and will fight to stop the sell–off of disabled jobs. To make things worse Nick Clegg publicly pledged his full support in 2008 to stop any Remploy factory closures.”

Unite blamed “poor management” for the announcement with leader Len McCluskey adding: “What these employees face is a nightmare scenario of struggling to find new jobs in the toughest jobs market since the early 1990s when we all know that disabled people are always at the back of the jobs queue. Ultimately, there is the prospect that some of these factories could close.”

A Department for Works and Pensions spokesperson said: “Despite the difficult financial climate we have protected Remploy’s budget and continue to support them.

“Remploy have had £555m government funding but unfortunately the factory arm of their business has not been able to successfully compete.”