City politicians have agreed to work together to save Dundee’s Remploy factory.
The textiles business, which provides supported employment to dozens of disabled people, has been earmarked for closure.
The coalition government announced last week that it is ”not commercially viable” and will shut its doors in the new year, following a 90-day consultation with all 43 staff.
Local politicians have formed a cross-party action group in response to the announcement, following an appeal by the city’s constituency MSPs and Councillor Richard McCready.
The policy and resources committee agreed that a cross-party group will be chaired by the lord provost and include councillors, MSPs and MPs, as well as a representative of Remploy management and staff.
Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee City East, said: ”We are glad that Lord Provost Bob Duncan has agreed to our request to convene all-party talks on the future of the factory and I think that will lead to progress being made.”
She is due to meet Minister for Business and Enterprise Fergus Ewing to discuss the situation this week.
Mr McCready said: ”It is important that the council speaks with one voice on this important issue and does all that it can to support the workforce at Remploy.”
Dundee West MP Jim McGovern and North East MSP Jenny Marra visited the Dunsinane Avenue factory yesterday.
Mr McGovern said: ”Listening to the very real worries of the dedicated staff at Remploy in Dundee has shown me the extent of the Government’s betrayal toward them.
”We will continue to fight for the Remploy employees here in Dundee to ensure they have a brighter future than that currently offered by the Government.”
Dundee’s constituency MSPs Joe FitzPatrick and Shona Robison also visited the factory yesterday morning. They have written to the Minister for Disabled People Esther McVey and Tim Matthews, CEO of Remploy, calling for more time.
Mr FitzPatrick said: ”In our letter to them on Friday we said that we are deeply concerned that imposing an arbitrary time limit on this process risks compromising efforts to explore alternative opportunities for the business to be taken forward before they have even begun.”