The Leicester Mercury
With the glorious advent of the Paralympics approaching, it makes me reflect on the miserly decision of the Government to shut down Remploy factories.
These give dignity and usefulness to thousands of disabled people.
These projects should be subsidised. Where is the money to come from? Stop wasting it on useless weapons like Trident.
~ Marie Thompson, Leicester.
Published in The Star on Wednesday 29 August 2012 08:02
The Star - South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire
I AGREED with much of Denis McShane MP statement regarding the Government stripping away sickness and disability benefits.
He was spot on. Now the Con Dem coalition government has announced callous plans to close 36 of the 54 remaining Remploy sites with compulsory redundancies for 1,752 people.
This decision came just days after the Government passed the welfare bill, which is supposed to help people in to work?
Instead of a commitment to help the most vulnerable people in society, the government is hellbent on making life much worse for them.
Remploy provides real jobs for many hundreds of disabled workers, giving them the confidence and dignity to be active and contributing citizens.
Closing the factories will cause real hardship and push many to the back of the dole queue despite the hollow and weasel words of Minister Duncan Smith and his rich cronies in the Tory Cabinet of millionaires.
Now they are threatening the pensions of the Remploy workers.
The vile treatment of Remploy workers has been a disgrace and the politicians should hang their heads in shame.
Successive Governments have attacked these vulnerable workers whittling the plants down over the years – but too many politicians sat on their hands and were silent, failing to stand up for those with little or no voice!
The solidarity and comradeship of Remploy workers has been a lesson and inspiration for all, in standing up and fighting for their basic rights.
However, the Government and media will attempt to airbrush the dispute from their story.
The next step should now be for Remploy workers to use the Paralympic Games as a further way to build their public profile and focus public attention on their plight,s tepping up their just fight and to name and shame those responsible for the decision to deny them employment.
~ Ged Dempsey, printworker, Rotherham
2 Responses
Put the Remploy workers into government, after all if the current lot think they are capable, why should the individuals who have been shafted by this goverment not take their places. As surely no one can do any worse, so i see no problem in this, at least they will understand what Disability and vulnerability means, something these condem fools have no idea about.
no he rather pay out more when unemployed then leave them work plonker dave jeff3