Remploy Birkenhead - Putting the Record Straight!
It was interesting to note that in recent press articles in the Post and Echo Unite the Union criticised the Works and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith for being silent. I am fully aware that Mr Duncan Smith offered to visit the Birkenhead site on two occasions, and on both his requests was refused. I know this, because I was instrumental in organising the visits
I asked the Secretary of State to come along to the site after I had visited the factory and met with the workers. During my visit to the site we had an open discussion and the entire workforce impressed me. I also met with the Managers and came up with the suggestion that I appeal the decision of closure on two points:
1) Remploy Birkenhead could be reallocated as an automotive sector provider rather than its present allocation as a soft furnishing site, for although it did soft furnishing its main work was for the automotive industry.
2) There had been significant changes within the local automotive sector since the review period had begun. Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port which only a few weeks before had an uncertain future had now been saved and Jaguar was a expanding and creating another 1000 jobs. Therefore there could well be work within the local supply chain allowing me to make a special appeal for the Remploy site.
I immediately wrote to Iain Duncan Smith and Maria Miller - Minister responsible for Remploy - and met with them both asking for the site to be re-designated in order to keep it open and operational, both agreed I had a case for a special appeal.
They asked through me to get a business plan from Remploy in order to demonstrate their ability to meet this re-designation, sadly the Management at the Birkenhead site refused to put such a plan together, even a simple, single page plan, which I asked them to do several times.
I have to say I was taken aback by the reluctance of the Management to support their workers - and I still can't understand why that was. Perhaps the staff should take over the stewardship of Remploy and seek to find new Managers with their same vision, focus and courage and I for one would back them.
8 Comments
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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Quite unbelievable. Only an out of touch Tory MP could try to pin the blame for the closure on the factory management. Reading Esther's blog you'd think it had nothing to do with her Tory-led Government's decision to sack more than a thousand disabled workers at the height of recession.
Typical socialists, playing politics and not at all interested in these workers having a sustainable future. It's almost as if they want to create the news themselves so they have something new to blame on the Tories. Shame on them.
Dan, I can't quite believe I'm actually going to defend a Tory, but in this instance I think you're being unfair.
Esther McVey may well be out of touch (I could just about recognise her, and have no idea what she has or hasn't done as a politician) or even naive, but she's not actually trying to suggest that this wasn't a Tory government decision. She's merely pointing out that there may have been a chance to save the jobs in Birkenhead which the management chose not to pursue.
This sounds like brinkmanship - they may well have been making a point of principle, but surely they should have at least tried to save these jobs, shouldn't they?
Hi Daniel
I would not have expected anything else from someone as blinkered as you. But using the Council email address as a medium for posting your comment is surely a breach of your Code Of Conduct as a Liverpool City Councillor. Using Council resources for political gain? Dont worry I won't report you to your Monitoring Officer that would be petty, just like your comment!
Katie - I disagree with your assertion that I'm being unfair because Remploy have only been put in this position because of a cruel Tory-led government decision that Esther belongs to.
Chris - calm down. I didn't realise that using my personal computer but using my email address as proof of identity was such an offence?
Hi Daniel
I think you will find when you were elected that you will have signed up to a code of conduct and an acceptable user policy for internet intranet and email. Ignorance of the policy and the code is not an excuse.
Now just to demonstrate the hypocritical nature of your assertions. Remember 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7119308.stm
Peter Hain closing remploy plants!!! what do they say about people and glass houses?
truth be told, maybe they could have put together a business plan but it it is highly unlikely they would be experienced in putting together business plans. It would not take much for someone who was to dismiss on the
grounds of insufficient detail / insufficient supporting figures / insufficient anything else.
While the government has had success in blame on previous administration and blame on Eurozone crisis putting blame for being sacked on those who you have sacked does leave a bad taste in the mouth. Could an assistance have been offered with the business plan ? Could a (sucessfull) word have been had with the one who would decide ?. While a successful defence of a bad position may merit applause, the desire to offer it is a different matter.
A business plan was actually put in for nearby Wrexham which sadly had the same result as Wirral. Possibly in that case the record could be put straight and say it was not the government in this case either but the lack of quality in the plan from those who were sacked.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-19210603#?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed