Support for Remploy workers in Porth

 
 
Last week I visited workers at the Remploy factory in Porth to discuss a potential threat to their jobs. They had contacted my office about a UK Government consultation that trade unions fear could see Remploy factories close and thousands of jobs lost across the UK.

The public consultation into employment services for disabled people was launched by the Department for Work and Pensions last month, seeking views on the recommendations put forward in the recent Sayce Review, which was conducted by RADAR Chief Executive Liz Sayce.

Trade unions Unite, GMB and Community have released a joint statement that calls on Remploy workers across the UK to ‘defend your jobs and the jobs of future disabled people’ and urges them to meet with and lobby their local elected representatives. The statement also reveals that UK Government Minister Maria Miller MP met with senior trade union officials from Unite and GMB on the 13^th July and ‘clearly stated that her Government was not prepared to fund any part of Remploy in the future’.

 
I was keen to meet Remploy employees as soon as possible and arranged to meet workers and trade union representatives at the Porth factory, with Rhondda MP Chris Bryant and a group of local Labour Councillors. During the visit I heard directly from workers who described the positive impact that Remploy had on their lives and how important the factory was to them, their families and the local community. I offered to host an event for Remploy workers at the National Assembly for Wales and reconfirmed my support for them in their bid to protect their jobs. 

The Remploy factory in Porth provides vital jobs for the benefit of the local community and a much needed route into employment for many disabled people. The Welsh Government has already made representations to the Sayce Review that Remploy factories in Wales must not close, and I will be supporting the workers in their efforts to keep their jobs and protect the future of disabled people in the Rhondda.

More photos from the visit and subsequent meeting can be found here.