Fighting to overcome prejudice at work

Alan Shoreman (special services employment advisor), Julie Lawton (branch manager), Cheris Burnley (account manager), Denise Hanaghan (employment adviser) and Kathy Currie (field employment advisor)

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DISABLED people could hold the key to cracking the economic downturn, says MP Phil Woolas.

Speaking as he officially opened Oldham branch of Remploy, in Union Street, the organisation which helps disabled people back into work, Mr Woolas, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, warned that the recession could further prejudice disabled people and argued that this is the most important time to encourage them back into work.

He said: “History has shown that discrimination increases as the economy shrinks and we have to fight against that, not just because it is the right thing to do but also because it helps us to get out of the recession.

“One of those disabled people could be a brilliant inventor, an entrepreneur or the person whose activities create hundreds of jobs.

“When the Government unveiled its new benefits policy, a lot of people were saying that we were forcing disabled people back into work, but we are actually giving them opportunities, particularly those on incapacity benefit.”

Remploy is a national company, which recruits thousands of disabled people into work each year through their 28 branches across the country.

Staff at the new Oldham branch, in Union Street, offer extensive help with confidence building, job training, CV writing and interview techniques and have built up strong relationships with a number of local employers including Tesco, Asda, First Bus and the NHS.

The Oldham office has already managed to place almost 60 people in jobs since it opened three months ago and of 7,000 jobs which will be created nationally by Asda, 500 have been promised to people working with Remploy.

A spokesman for Remploy in Oldham said: “Disabled people who want to work still come up against many barriers, but we are working with employers to overcome this.”

The opening, which was also attended by Oldham West and Royton MP Michael Meacher, Ashton MP David Heyes and Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, gave Mr Woolas the opportunity to praise Oldham’s massive contribution to producing technology for disabled people.

He said: “I am proud to be a director and trustee of the ACE centre in Hollinwood, which produces all sorts of equipment to help disabled people.

“We also have Innovative Technology, which provides educational materials for disabled children and exports to 35 countries.

“Oldham is a world leader in this field and the passion that went into the creation of these companies is replicated in the work that Remploy does.”