Remploy to close three furniture factories

Three Remploy furniture factories in the North West and Wales are to close, putting 160 disabled workers on the jobs scrapheap.

Remploy said no acceptable offers had been made for its furniture business, so it will close sites in Blackburn, Sheffield, and Baglan, near Port Talbot.

At Sheffield 77 will lose their jobs, of whom 74 are disabled, while at Baglan, 54 disabled workers will lose their jobs and at the Blackburn factory 18 will be made redundant, of whom 17 are disabled. In addition, 47 office, sales, and other staff will be made redundant; 15 of them are disabled.

Remploy thought it had sold the businesses to Metalliform, but that deal fell through when the bidder pulled out. It then re-opened with other bidders but the Remploy board deemed that none of the bids were viable.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite general union, said the company needs "to stop hiding behind a veil of secrecy and explain why in this final act of callousness no bids were deemed viable".

“The workforce has been kept in the dark and face a future of fear and insecurity as this cruel government consigns them to a life on the dole."

www.remploy.co.uk/about-us/future-of-remploy/company-statements/company-statement-28-august-2013.ashx

www.unitetheunion.org/news/government-needs-to-lift-veil-of-secrecy-over-final-remploy-closures/