13/07/09 - Wage Support for Teesside

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland, Paul Bristow, has called on Teesside MPs to support his call for a time-limited wage support for Corus workers and the threatened Chemical plants at Wilton.

In a letter to local MPs, Mr Bristow, asks that they 'work together and fight to save jobs' and reminds them that 'local families are relying on you.'

The call comes as the Dow Chemical Company and Croda announced plans to close plants at the Wilton site and Corus proposing 428 redundancies across Teesside following a slump in demand.  This is on top of the 2,000 jobs under threat with the future of Teesside Cast Products at Redcar still up in the air.

In Holland, jobs are being safeguarded at Corus because the Dutch Government has promised to meet up to 75 per cent of workers’ wages during lay-offs.

Mr Bristow said:

"The Government is predicting economic recovery by the end of the year, so I would support wage subsidy on a temporary short term basis.

 "News that the two key plants at Wilton are to go cannot be allowed to start a chain reaction where other businesses fail and further jobs are lost.

"If the Corus and the chemical industry feel things will pick up soon, spending on protecting jobs now is preferable to the tragic consequences of unemployment and added welfare and benefit bills. 

"I am calling on Teesside’s MPs to press the Government to save jobs locally.  If the Government is acting to save the car industry in the West Midlands why not jobs on Teesside?''