Engineering and chemicals job losses on the rise
THE TOTAL number of jobs lost in the engineering and chemical sectors in the Tees Valley over the past six months has risen to 1,038.
The figures were revealed in a letter to North-east MEP Fiona Hall, who is pressing the regional development agency to pursue European funds to support workers whose jobs are at risk.
It is believed previous attempts to access the multi-million euro Globalisation Adjustment Fund (GAF) were abandoned because it required backing from Whitehall. The Department of Work and Pensions has steadfastly refused the ask for the monies because it would undermine Britain’s rebate from Europe. But pressure is mounting from all sides as Teesside faces its biggest single casualty of the recession if the Corus Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant closes.
The cash could be used to help workers retrain while keeping them in their jobs a little while longer. That could help buy time for the plant as it struggles to rebuild its order book or rescue the take-over talks with bidders Marcegaglia and Dongkuk.
The GAF, which was recently bolstered by extra cash to help EU countries over the economic crisis, has been used by other member states to cushion the impact on their economies, particularly in the industrial heartlands. Mrs Hall said she was concerned that no detailed data had apparently been collected so far in the North-east to support a claim to the GAF.
