Strike threat over disabled workers job shake-up

Unions threatened strike action today after Britain's largest employer of disabled workers said it was closing 43 loss-making factories.

Remploy, which produces a range of manufactured goods for companies, said it wanted to fund jobs for employees in mainstream environments instead.

The cuts are supported by a range of disabled charities but unions have pledged to fight to maintain the factories - and accused the charities of acting in a "despicable manner".

The company, which employs 5,000 disabled staff in 83 factories, has announced 32 plants will close and 11 will merge with other sites.

Remploy's chief executive, Bob Warner, said the company had to act because the factories were losing about £100m a year.

But he stressed no disabled employees would be made compulsorily redundant. Mr Warner said: "We have a great opportunity to help more disabled people find jobs. But we have to change how we work.

"There is now an acceptance that disabled people would prefer to work in mainstream employment alongside non-disabled people rather than in sheltered workshops from which they do not progress and develop."

Mr Warner said more than £20,000 was spent on supporting every job in a Remploy factory and the company could place four people in jobs with other employers for the same money.

Remploy said it had an "ambitious" programme to transfer resources from the loss-making factories to help more than 20,000 disabled people get jobs in mainstream employment every year.

Even after the closures, it will still cost about £9,000 a year to subsidise every job and Mr Warner said he could give no guarantee that there would not be any further closures.

Phil Davies, national officer for the GMB union, said every part of Britain would be hit by closures.

"We do not accept this level of closures and we will fight to maintain the current factory network," he said.

"The trade unions do not accept the financial arguments that have been put forward and we are concerned at the way the company has conducted itself in the last few weeks, including leaking information to the media."

Mr Davies said the six charities that have supported the closure plans acted in a "despicable manner".

He said unions would now consult their members but he raised the prospect of an industrial action ballot among all 5,000 workers employed at the factories.