The UK Government has been accused of a “shameful abandonment” of disabled workers after it was confirmed all of Scotland’s Remploy factories are to close.
No viable bids were received for the company’s frontline and marine textiles bases at Dundee, Stirling, Leven, Cowdenbeath and Clydebank, resulting in the businesses shutting and staff being made redundant.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, last night blasted the outcome, which leaves 65 Fife employees out of a job.
He said: “This is a shameful abandonment of disabled people who work at RemployI understand there was at least one bid to take over the facilities and I want to know what happened to that bid.”
One glimmer of hope for workers in the Remploy statement was that a social enterprise bid has been received for the frontline and marine textiles’ assets, although both the company and Disability Minister Esther McVey refused to elaborate further, citing commercial confidentiality.
Ms McVey told The Courier no one came forward with a firm business offer at the bidding stage, despite previous expressions of interest.
She also pledged to support the social enterprise bid and defended herself against accusations of not doing enough to ensure the sale of the businesses, pointing to an £8 million support package for workers.
“There was a lot of work to be done to get out there asking people to put in representations of interest,” Ms McVey said.
“I think it does need to be put in context. These factories have had uncertain futures going back to 2008 and we had to, first of all, look at staff working there and how we could help them find sustainable mainstream jobs.”
SNP Dundee City West MSP Joe FitzPatrick described the closure of the city’s factory a “tragedy” for its 31 employees and accused the DWP of being “determined to proceed with the closure of most of the Remploy network.”
He added: “First of all they withdrew funding with a view to shutting down all of the factories, including the one in Dundee.
“Then they betrayed the workforce by diverting a substantial MOD contract to a company that operates thousands of miles away in North Africa.”
Labour’s Dundee West MP Jim McGovern said: “It is clear to me that their aim from the outset was to dispose of the factories, regardless of the impact on the workforce or on the local economies of places like Dundee.”
Glenrothes and Central Fife Labour MP Lindsay Roy said: “Quite frankly, I am incensed as this decision flies in the face of all the evidence about future prospects of Remploy Marine Fife, if they had the right short-term government support.”
Scotland Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said: “The Scottish Government will seek to work closely with this organisation (the social enterprise) to help preserve as many jobs as possible for those being made redundant by Remploy and the UK Government.”