Disability employment report ‘the death knell for Remploy factories’, says Unite

10 Jun 2011 04:29 PM

The latest report on employment opportunities for disabled people is a blueprint to close more than 50 Remploy plants, Unitethe union, has claimed. 
 

Unite said that the small print makes it clear that there will be no more public funding for the enterprise business side of Remploy which has 54 factories across the UK. This would be ‘a major blow’ to some of the most disadvantaged people in society. 

The intention is for the plants to become either social enterprises or co-operatives, but if they are not viable, the 2,800 disabled people currently employed by Remploy would be returned to mainstream employment. But in the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, their chances of a proper job are almost nil. 

Unite’s General Secretary, Len McCluskey said: ‘This report spells the death knell of  Remploy factories – it is a blueprint to run-down and close the factories. The government needs to commit itself to making substantial pump-priming available to guarantee that the plants become successful as businesses in their own right - they won’t succeed without such cash.’ 

‘The prospect for those who will have to battle it out for mainstream jobs is grim – it is major blow for them. What will happen is that the disabled will be at the back of the employment queue and when they do succeed in finding work, too often, they are bullied and forced out of work. It is a vicious revolving door.’  

Unite has called for a genuine independent review to be carried out, given that the report’s author Liz Sayce is RADAR’s chief executive, an organisation which three years ago supported a large scale redundancy programme at Remploy. 

Unite, which has 60,000 members in the not for profit sector, is concerned about the Sayce review, and its emphasis on supporting the individual rather than institutions employing the disabled to gain and retain employment. 

Remploy, which employs 4,000 people, including 2,800 with disabilities, has recently been subject to a voluntary redundancy programme which has meant 700 people leaving the organisation.  

Getting in, staying in and getting on – RADAR Chief Executive publishes review of employment support for disabled people

  

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Note to news editors: 
For further information, please contact Unite national officer, Rachael Maskell on 07768 693933 and/or Unite communications officer, Shaun Noble on 07768 693940