Disabled workers at the threatened Croespenmaen Remploy factory will not be given false hope, according to the Disabilities Minister, after plans were announced to find a buyer for the plant.
Islwyn MP Chris Evans got the assurance from Minister Maria Miller as she announced the closures of Remploy sites at Aberdare, Abertillery, Merthyr, Swansea and Wrexham. Bridgend and Croespenmaen will remain open for now.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Ms Miller said “This is difficult news. We are doing everything we can to ensure that Remploy workers will receive a comprehensive package of support and guidance to make the transition from government-funded sheltered employment to mainstream jobs.
Also speaking in the Commons, Islwyn MP Mr Evans called on the UK Government to ensure that Remploy workers were not led up the garden path and would instead have the Government’s support as a buyer is found.
Ms Miller offered a guarantee that the Government would work to ensure that any bids for the Croespenmaen plants were successful.
Mr Evans said: “Although this news will come as a relief for the 44 workers at the Croespenmaen plant, workers still face an uncertain future.
“That is why I wanted to seek an assurance from the Minister that workers will not be led up the garden path on this issue.”
Brace’s, Wales’ largest independent bakery, has previously said it has opened discussions to try and purchase Remploy’s factory at Croespenmaen.
Twenty-seven Remploy factories across Britain will be closed by the UK Government which claims the £320 million budget for disabled employment services could be better spent.
Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith MP criticised the move, saying it would place further economic hardships on disabled people in Wales.
He said: “The decision to close 27 Remploy factories across the UK, including five in Wales, will be a real blow for those employees who have relied on stable employment in Remploy factories for many years.
“At the five sites set to close, including those in Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil and Wrexham, employees are being thrown into a jobs market at the height of a double-dip recession made by the very government closing their factories.
“The Remploy factories are an imperfect solution for the employment needs of disabled workers – but for many they’ve been a real lifeline and they remain, in the present climate, a source of employment in areas where jobs are increasingly hard to come by.”
The UK Government announced in March that Remploy was planning to close 36 of its 54 factories, putting more than 1,700 jobs at risk.
The Welsh Government has previously called on the UK Government to devolve responsibility for Remploy – a move backed by Plaid Cymru.