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Backing for Remploy rescue package
A RESCUE package which should protect the jobs of disabled workers in Jarrow has received cross-party support from South Tyneside councillors.
At a meeting of the full council yesterday, members put their weight behind a campaign to keep the disability firm Remploy afloat.
After a Jarrow March-style campaign around the country, organised by the GMB, the Government announced a 555m rescue package at this week's Labour Party conference.
It came after Remploy's national management announced cost-cutting plans to close 43 sites.
Staff at its factory on the Bede Industrial Estate were earmarked for a move to Longbenton in North Tyneside.
The Government has now ensured there will be no factory closures without ministerial agreement.
Yesterday, councillors of all political persuasions backed a motion for a letter to be sent by the council to the chief executive of Remploy, Bob Warner, and local MPs calling for the firm to keep a presence in the borough.
Coun Waggott, the leader of South Tyneside Council, welcomed the Government package, which protects the 34 jobs in Jarrow.
He added: "Although the Government package states that no disabled person will be made compulsorily redundant, it would be a major injustice if the Jarrow factory was to close and the employees relocated.
"It would mean a great deal of upheaval and disruption to the lives of these people, as well as a considerable amount of extra travel to their place of work."
Independent member Jane Branley offered her support for Remploy and congratulated the GMB union for the timing of its campaign, saying it was no surprise the rescue package was announced at the Labour Party conference.
And Coun Maisie Stewart, Bede ward member, spoke of her relief at the announcement, describing the workforce at Remploy as being "like a family".
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Friday 10 February 2012
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