Islwyn MP, Chris Evans has hit out at Freeman UK for refusing to comment on reports of 150 jobs at risk at their Cwmcarn plant.
The Labour MP said he was disappointed at the companies lack of consultation after writing to them in April with concerns over the future of the factory and said he has written to the company again today.
Workers at the exhibition and events company are reported to have been given letters telling them they have been selected for redundancy.
The BBC reported that some jobs will be lost in July, with the plant facing possible closure by December.
Mr Evans said: “I am very disappointed that I have found out about these redundancies via the press.
“This is not the first time, like everyone else, I found out that workers were being put at risk of redundancy as it was previously reported in the news last month.
“In April I wrote a letter to the CEO of Freeman UK to seek a meeting. I did not receive a response for nearly a month, and to date no such meeting has been forthcoming.
“I am very disappointed to have found out that major redundancies are being made and that Freeman UK is continuing to refuse to comment. Now is the time for answers, which is why I have written again to the company in the hope that we can meet.
“The redundancies are not only a body-blow for the economy of Islwyn, but also the workforce and their families.”
Islwyn Labour Party have said they will fight to save 150 jobs that are under threat.
Cllr Tom Williams, Islwyn Labour Chair, said: “We will fight to keep these valuable jobs in Cwmcarn. While it seems that no formal decision has been taken about the future of the Cwmcarn site, this threat of closure is really worrying for the workforce and the community as a whole”.
Islwyn Labour spokesperson, Gez Kirby, added: “Any job losses on this scale would have a major impact on our local economy.
“Our elected representatives – Islwyn’s Chris Evans MP and Gwyn Price AM, and Abercarn Cllrs Ken James and Denver Preece – are working with Freeman to try and protect these jobs, and will do everything possible to support those affected if the site is closed.
“Despite the Tory-led government’s claims, people in Islwyn know that the economy isn’t improving here. Labour is working locally with employers to protect and create as many jobs as possible.”
Caerphilly Observer contacted Freeman UK head office and the Cwmcarn plant, but no one was available to comment.
I am correct in saying that this company, previously Stanco exhibitions who were recently brought out by Freeman, were given funding by the Welsh Assembly as an incentive to move to the Cwmcarn site and they don’t have the decency to explain the reasons for these 150 job loses.
What did the Labour party expect when they didn’t fight against the buyout by Freeman?
This is the problem with international conglomerates when they buyout British businesses. They don’t care about jobs or the social effects. They only care about profits. It wouldn’t be so bad if locations are relocating to a different area and bing kept in the UK, but they are moving abroad or closing permanently. There is a brain drain and unemployment. If Britain’s economy was more closed, like the USA, and measures were in place to stop buyouts and gutting, this wouldn’t be an as big a problem.
It’s sad as it nearly happened and may still happen to Astra Zeneca.
Dean is essentially correct, I have lost count of the number of British concerns that have been asset stripped by foreign buyers, or the foreign companies who are given public money and then manufacture only for a short time. LG being an example.
The EU plays its part too, I worked at a paper mill in Bridgend which opened in 1951. Around ten years ago an Italian company, buoyed up with EU money, built a brand new mill at Baglan Energy Park. The product manufactured was the same as Bridgend Mill, causing direct competition with a well established employer. Bridgend’s employees were well paid, had a final salary pension and full sick pay arrangements.
The newcomer had none of these benefits and promptly employed large numbers of Polish people who had come from their own country to escape poverty. This led to many redundancies at Bridgend but the project was cheered on by MEPs and local MPs because of their blinkered, extreme pro-EU politics.
There was a similar story last year with the aluminium plant in Bedwas. It was bought out by a company using money given to it by the British government. The plant was then closed. You have foreign firms buying out British businesses in order to eliminate the competition. The politicians, no matter the party, are weak, spineless, and allow it to happen.
Your example in Bridgend is all too common across Britain. EU workers are attracted to the UK for higher wages (yes British workers could go there but why should they be forced to look abroad, and who wants a job paying less?). Freedom of movement and not being able to discriminate against an EU country or British country will see the demise of all British manufacturing and companies.
If politicians want Britain to be competitive, they should force the merger of BAE and Rolls Royce, give £billions in subsidies and aggressively buyout Bombardier and Embraer. Britain will then have an aerospace company able to compete directly with Boeing and Airbus.