Remploy factory at Trentham Lakes closes its doors for final time
A FACTORY which employed dozens of disabled workers has closed its doors for good.
The Government has shut down the Remploy factory at Trentham Lakes after making more than 100 staff redundant.
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The Remploy factory at Trentham Lakes
It comes four years after the company's Newcastle factory was closed down.
The Trentham site is one of 51 Government-funded sites which have now been wound up across the UK as part of controversial Government cuts.
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Workers at the Gordon Banks Drive site had carried out a range of jobs, including assembly work for car companies and book binding.
Production ceased earlier this month and most of the staff have left.
And the building was officially padlocked yesterday before the final employees deserted the site.
The Government is now expected to try to sell off the building to a private bidder.
A spokesman for Remploy said: "At the end of last week the site ceased production and the majority of employees left the business.
"The site was due to close up for the final time just before Christmas, but that has now been brought forward."
However, former employees and union bosses have questioned why the redundancies had to come during the run up to the festive season, when other Remploy workers already made redundant had struggled to find alternative employment in a grim jobs market.
Pam Tinsley, aged 68, of Leek Road, Hanley, who worked at Remploy's former Newcastle plant for 20 years, said: "I think it is absolutely disgraceful and a complete betrayal of the trust of disabled people, who have given their lives to Remploy.
"Most of these people would barely have taken a single day off. And there are no jobs out there for able-bodied people, never mind the disabled."
Unite regional officer Neil Salter said: "We've fought hard to try to keep the factory open and I personally worked closely with the site for almost 20 years.
"I got to know a lot of people working there. It's the end of an era, but also the start of a very sad period of profound problems and hardships for the people who worked there."
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey added: "The timing is callous so close to Christmas.
"It is a cruel decision, given that of those sacked in the first round of closures only about 50 have found new jobs in the last three months.
"We call on ministers to stop the closure programme immediately until there is a review of the shambles of selling-off Remploy sites to commercial interests.
"Cost-cutting is being put before the real needs and employment prospects of disabled workers. It is a disgrace."
Comments
by dougalcross
Monday, December 17 2012, 5:42AM
“More disabled folk onto life's scrapheap. A country is judged, or should be judged, by the manner in which it treats its weakest citizens, - those who can't fight back. Wonder what other counties think of us? This Remploy closure sickens and depresses all the decent folk in Britain, no matter who they vote for.
Anon Mow Cop of course Aneurin was a Labour MP. He made only one mistake He thought the Tories in the 1940's were the foulest filth imaginable. Goodness knows what he'd make of this Camel-on-Clagg Axis who make their blue-blooded inbred predecessors seem like gentlefolk.
And we all thought Idi Amin was evil!!”
by Johntoe
Sunday, December 16 2012, 8:14PM
“@ summertime
I agree with you, but as I alway vote, and I want rid of Cameron slightly more that I want Millibland, then I will reluctantly vote for his party,
and Anon_mow_cop
typo old boy, he was a deputy PM though, but unlike Clegg, he was Deputy PM to a leader of a party that WAS elected, as well as also being a member of the same party as his PM, unlike Cameron and Clugg who are both members of a government that wasn't.”
by summertime
Sunday, December 16 2012, 3:47PM
“johntoe, come on man ! Labour or Tory, it makes no difference they are all the same. They may say different things, but they are politicians, they are all bad and only look after themselves. Have you never heard of the old joke "how can you tell when a politician is lying?........ His lips are moving". It's a joke, but it's true !”
by greyguitar
Sunday, December 16 2012, 3:30PM
“Never mind. The money saved can go to those nice Muslims and their new school.”
by Anon_mow_cop
Sunday, December 16 2012, 1:41PM
“@johntoe
Aneurin Bevan was never a labour PM, only an MP”
by Johntoe
Sunday, December 16 2012, 11:39AM
“by Anon_mow_cop
"Look like Johntoe has just gone past the last exit of relevance."
EH? Show me where Labour was mentioned in the above article and then get back to ME about 'relevance'
But since other posters brought up Labour, or as I call them "Tory lite" let me once again, make my position clear, I'm not a Labour "supporter" but I WILL be a Labour voter, because sadly they are the only option if we want to get rid of the swines in power now, and the last time I voted Labour was 1997, I was out of the country from 99 till 2006, and voted Limp Dumb in 2010,
But back on topic, before I get accused of doing exactly what at least 3 others did,
Did Labour ever call the unemployed "scroungers" while setting about creating more unemployed? Did Labour ever call the out of work disabled "shirkers" and launch a campaign to turn public opion against the disabled? a campaign that's been so successful that we have seen a massive increase in hate crimes against the disabled as well as a massive increase in suicides amongst the disabled,
and now they deliberately and maliciously set out to throw hundreds of hard working disabled people onto the dole, and no doubt in a few months time after their ATOS 'selection' they will be told, "you CAN work, you MUST work and if you don't work we (the very people who threw you OUT of work) will punish you for not having a job, by taking away some of your benefits, and forcing you to work for the rest,
Tell me that's not exactly what this set of bast***s will do,
I'm with Aneurin Bevan the Labour PM who gave us the NHS when he said,....
"No amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin"”
by Anon_mow_cop
Saturday, December 15 2012, 8:39PM
“Look like Johntoe has just gone past the last exit of relevance.”
by stevenweiss
Saturday, December 15 2012, 6:12PM
“I think you'll find Peter Hain was the government minister who orchestrated the Remploy closure programme. Mr Hain is a member of the Labour Party.”
by focusboy
Saturday, December 15 2012, 4:35PM
“Could I just point out that the previous Labour government also closed 29 Remploy factories in 2008?. It's not just the Tories.”
by Johntoe
Saturday, December 15 2012, 2:28PM
“So good he said it twice, either that or there's an echo in here, you can call me a racist if you like, cause I know I'm not one,
and, I have a sense of humor, until the Tories take that away as well,”