LOOK OUT FOR EU SUPPORT FOR ELECTROLUX WORKERS, SAYS FIONA HALL

Fiona Hall has written to the Government Office for the North East (GONE) asking them to examine the possibilities of securing EU funding to assist with the retraining of the workforce recently made redundant by the closing of the Electrolux factory in Spennymoor.

The closure of Electrolux’s cooker manufacturing plant resulted in the loss of around 500 regional jobs.

Fiona Hall said:

“I have written to GONE suggesting that it keep its eyes open for the possibilities of funding from the EU’s Globalisation Fund.

“The Globalisation Adjustment Fund came into being in January 2007 with the aim of providing finance to retrain workers. Through the fund each year the EU makes up to €500m (£374m) available to help reintegrate into the labour market workers made redundant due to changing global trade patterns.

“In December last year, the Fund paid out €14.8m (£11m) to Germany and Finland when 3,300 mobile phone workers lost their jobs due to the pressures of globalisation.

“The criteria for applications are complex and involve the number of jobs lost regionally, across a sector and in a certain timeframe. However, the impact of this plant closure will stretch further than the immediate workforce, and I have urged GONE to monitor the numbers closely and be aware of the fact that the region may become eligible for the fund at some point in the future.

“The Government Office of the North East has the responsibility for alerting the central Government Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) when a bid can be made to the Globalisation Fund. If a bid were successful the money would then go via central Government to GONE to be used for the retraining of the workforce into the labour market.

“The most important thing for the families involved as well as the region is to find employment for the redundant workers as quickly as possible. To that end I will continue to keep in contact with GONE and keep a close eye on the situation.”