HUNDREDS of disabled workers in the region were celebrating last night after the Government stepped in to stop Remploy closing factories without its permission.
Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain entered the increasingly bitter conflict by imposing a Government veto on any closures.
The move - along with a pledge to use new EU rules to secure more public sector work for the factories - greatly improve the chances of the factories remaining open.
Mr Hain, speaking at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, also assured the workers there would be no compulsory redundancies.
Remploy had planned to close or merge 43 of its factories, six of which are in the North-East and North Yorkshire.
About 350 workers, including 328 disabled people, face redundancy at Spennymoor, County Durham, Hartlepool, Stockton, York, Jarrow and Ashington, in Northumberland.
The factories made a loss of almost £6m last year.
Kenneth Stubbs, GMB branch secretary for Remploy North- East, last night greeted the announcement with a mixture of relief and suspicion.
He said: "If this is genuine, not just a face-saving exercise, we will obviously all be pleased.
"We will have the chance to prove what we have been saying, that there is no business reason to close Remploy factories because they can be made to work.
"But there is also a level of anxiety and mistrust - we've been so upset by so many things that have happened in recent months.
"We are still waiting to hear a guarantee that our jobs are safe and, as a union, will not give up fighting for those reassurances, but on behalf of all workers I can say we welcome this news."
Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman has backed the workers' fight against closure, particularly supporting the Spennymoor plant in her constituency.
She led a group of concerned politicians in talks with Remploy bosses and urged local authorities to consider moving some of their public procurement work to Remploy factories.
Speaking from the Labour Party conference last night, she said: "This gives a new lease of life to the Spennymoor factory and I think that all of the work that has been done by workers, trade unions and the Government together re-examining this means we are going to move forward in a much more positive way. We are not out of the woods yet, but it is a step in the right direction.
"We have shown there is a need for Remploy factories, to provide working opportunities for people who may be discriminated against in other workplaces.
"But not just that. The fact is that some of their work is high quality from some very skilled, and hardworking staff.
"On Monday, the Prime Minister said we should look to use everyone's talents, and I think that includes Remploy workers."
Mr Hain disappointed the GMB union by failing to announce any details of the new guaranteed work and its impact on the closure programme during yesterday's speech.
Nevertheless, the announcement was enough to head off a union-inspired vote on the conference floor, reflecting the GMB's confidence that Mr Hain - who made his anger known when Remploy sent out redundancy notices last month - is unlikely to approve the closures.
Remploy, the country's biggest employer of the disabled, had insisted the closures were unavoidable because its 83 factories were losing nearly £6m a year.
Mr Hain said unions and management agreed Remploy "must change to have a financially sustainable future".
But, he said: "We have a duty to help even more disabled people into work, while continuing to help those for whom supported employment remains the best option.
"I have also made clear to Remploy management that no factory closures will take place without the agreement of Government ministers.
"Whatever the final shape of that agreement, the Government will provide a subsidy over five years - a £555m package - for Remploy to have a successful future."
Despite the announcement, the unions will announce today the result of ballots for industrial action in protest at the closure plans.
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said: "We are still seeking an industrial agreement and preparing for industrial action if we don't get it."
Bob Warner, chief executive of Remploy, said after the debate: We are continuing talks with the trade unions.
These discussions have recently been helped by the appointment of Roger Poole as an independent chairman and we look forward to an early conclusion so that we can end the uncertainty that has faced our employees for the last year."
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