Sad news about the Remploy employees in Dundee being sacked just before Christmas. Their factory will join 30 others throughout the country that are being closed.
From 'The Courier'...
" Earlier this year, the Government acted on the controversial Sayce Report, which recommended that disabled workers would be better served in mainstream employment rather than a supported environment such as Remploy."
The Sayce Report recommends " empowering disabled people and employers by opening up Access to Work, widening access to information and peer support and ensuring support can go with the individual, from job to job, equipping disabled people for the economy of today and tomorrow. Young people do not expect a job for life – so we need to design support that can go with the individual, from job to job.”
Liz Sayce who compiled the report is Chief Executive of radar 'the disability rights people'
Ms Sayce is also Common Purpose. which is a sort of shadow administration which teaches graduates to lead 'Outside Authority'. There are estimated to be about 20,000 graduates throughout the public sector and each 3 day graduate course costs taxpayers about £4,000. Selection for the course is by recommendation.
Remploy employees are probably like myself and had never previously heard of 'The Sayce Report' or 'radar' or 'Common Purpose' but if the government are using these experts to advise them on who to sack then we had better learn fast.
The Courier article continues....
"In a statement to Parliament yesterday, the Minister for Disabled People Esther McVey MP said Remploy in Dundee is ''not commercially viable'' and has ''little realistic prospect of being sold''
The Government did find £2.9Bn to fund various 'green projects' abroad such as Kenyan rain dancers (£25m), windmills in Turkey (£31m) and special vegetation that would help stop Colombian cattle from farting and causing global warming (£15m). It's a sort of green troubleshooting fund where we will fund any hairbrained scheme as long as it has 'green' in the request for money form.
Remploy should have designed a windmill powered water bed that sprinkled you with genuine Kenyan rain water whenever you farted and they would have been sorted.
(UPDATE 1..... 1st Feb 2013. Remploy employee found dead on day of closure of Springburn factory. Recently presented with award for 40 years loyal service.)
(UPDATE 2.... 5th Feb 2013 "Furious disabled workers accuse Tory axewoman Esther McVey of throwing them on scrapheap in wake of Remploy closures". Ms McVey goes to Dundee to talk to workers.)</p>
The trouble is that "we" elected a largely Tory government.
ReplyDeleteWe should never never do that.
They always drive a coach and horses through any kind of decency, which is not surprising because they don't believe in society, except of course the kind that has seasons in London.
This sickens me beyond measure. I was delighted a few years ago to be taken on a tour of the factory which makes materials for the armed forces (or did when I was there). I met and talked to some of the workers, who seemed genuinely delighted to have a proper job.
It is... or was...a great place. Some of the people had amazing skills.
Now "our" Tory government is empowering them to go on the dole. They have little chance of a job outside of an environment which has a measure of protection, so they will likely be on the dole.
After three months they will probably be sent to stack shelves in Tesco for free.
How very empowering. How very Tory. They had a scheme something like that last time they were in.
The people in "our" government see nothing but £££££££££. They disgust me; make me feel physically sick. They don't know, or don't care what they are doing to people.
And they will never find out, because they have feather nested themselves so carefully that, even if they didn't come from money, they will certainly leave parliament with it.
I wish them what they have wished on other people, and who knows, maybe in a way they will get it. After all look at the once great Thatcher creature running the world at president Reagan's coat tails and now a miserable alcoholic wreck of a woman with not much of a clue what or where she is...
It's depressing right enough tris. Although it's not confined to the Tories. Gordon Brown just filed his 'interests' for December. £300k for a month of speaking engagements. On top of his salary. Leaving us all in poverty to fill his breeches.
ReplyDeleteThe Kinnocks must clear about £1m per annum with their EU posse ( mum , dad, kids ). Seem to remember a lot of speeches from the Welsh windbag as he slagged off the tories.
Lord Prescott has his finger in many pies and used to slag off the 'vermin in ermine'
Nick Clegg peeks out at the world through the limo window. His future secure with EU/ Govt etc pensions as he rubber stamps dave's plans for us.
In Scotland the SNP close dozens of parks in Angus to save £30k a year. About the cost of one of their useless electric cars. Oh and Labour are bleating on about in the Courier while spending £1.2Bn on a new submarine.
Wait a minute! Am I thick?
ReplyDeleteThis is a factory in Scotland. Is the Scottish Government not empowered to keep it open? And how no?
Enlighten me.
hi Barney..No you're not thick. I wondered the same thing so had a look at wiki. Remploy is owned by the Dept for Work and Pensions and so is outwith the remit of the SG. It was set up by a law in 1944. Possibly to employ disabled ex soldiers ?
ReplyDeleteThere would be nothing to stop the SG setting up a factory themselves I suppose. Unfortunately any spare cash is used for electric ambulances and windmills etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remploy
Hmm, Milord,
ReplyDeleteMaybe a wee hint should be passed in the SG direction, then?
There doesn't seem to be much interest Barney. Usual 'all party delegation' like with the pointless charade at the old Tesco distribution centre collapse last year. The closures are usually done and dusted and the meetings are just a sad charade to save face all round and be seen to help.
ReplyDelete