FIFE’S LABOUR politicians will today meet the Remploy chairman in a bid to safeguard the future of 65 local jobs.
MPs and MSPs are to meet Sir Ian Russell in Kirkcaldy to discuss the possible closure of its Cowdenbeath and Leven factories as Fife Council announces support for the jobs campaign.
Fife Council leader Alex Rowley yesterday revealed that the local authority would give practical help to the bid to save jobs in both factories.
The MPs and MSPs have criticised the Department for Work and Pensions for an inadequate deal for the workers.
The council’s initiative, with direct support for an employee-led plan to save the threatened jobs, comes after Remploy’s chief executive Tim Matthews wrote to the MPs to inform them that they were launching a commercial process to seek expressions of interest for the plants and that a document has been sent out to prospective buyers.
The Government argued the two Remploy factories are not financially viable but politicians said they have full order books.
Lindsay Roy MP said: “This government tells us again and again that there should be rewards for those in work, that they are supporting disabled workers and trying to reduce the number of people who have to rely solely on benefits.
“They need to live up to that promise by working closely with us to sustain Remploy jobs in Fife.”