HUNDREDS of the region's disabled workers fighting the closure of their factories will be offered a salary top-up to persuade them to take new jobs.

But last night, the proposal failed to calm trade union anger, as one leader branded the offer of jobs in supermarkets and other private companies an insult.

Kenneth Stubbs, the GMB branch secretary for Remploy North-East, feels most disabled workers will be insulted by the proposal and will still fight to retain their factory jobs.

Remploy is the biggest employer of disabled people in the country, with staff working in manufacturing, textiles, furniture-making, bookbinding and information technology.

However, it wants to close 43 factories, including those in Spennymoor, County Durham, Hartlepool, Stockton, York, South Tyneside and Ashington, in Northumberland, which employ more than 300 people.

Mr Stubbs, who works at the Spennymoor plant, said: "I think the jobs they are suggesting are an insult.

"We have skills, responsibility and experience, so a job stacking shelves, cleaning, pushing trolleys around a supermarket or hospital is not really an option. Without offending, they are menial, low-paid jobs and I have never seen one offered for more than six months, so where is the security in that?"

The chief executive of Remploy, Bob Warner, pledged that staff would receive the wage paid in their present post until they retire, even if their new job has a lower wage.

The workers will also be guaranteed their final-salary pensions, holidays and sick pay.

The move, described as unprecedented in UK industrial history by Mr Warner, will be bankrolled by £50m from the Government.

Remploy workers will be encouraged to take jobs with private companies such as Asda and Tesco or, in a small number of cases, with charities or non commercial care homes and organisations.

Mr Stubbs questioned the wisdom of spending taxpayers' money topping up workers' wages instead of on saving the jobs they want to keep.

He said: "I find this idea total garbage. No manager seems to be trying to save the factories, to find work to keep us going, just the unions. This £50m they talk about should be spent doing that.

"It looks like Remploy will be turned into a big job agency to find disabled people jobs they do not really want."