Task Force says 1,200 MG Rover workers have found new jobs |
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Published
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Wed, 22 Jun 2005 03:35
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The Rover Task Force has informed Prime Minister Tony Blair that almost 1,200 former MG Rover workers have found new jobs after they were laid-off as a result of the collapse of the carmaker.
Almost 6,100 workers lost their jobs after the Birmingham-based erstwhile carmaking giant went into administration in April. The Rover Task Force was set up to monitor those hit by this collapse. The force also said that beside these 1,200 workers another 1,000 were retraining for other jobs. The task force officials met the Prime Minister and other officials at 10 Downing Street this morning and updated them on the progress made by the group. They informed the Prime Minister that the 3,000 jobs that were in danger of being laid-off at the companies supplying MG Rover have been "temporarily safeguarded".
| Nick Paul, chairman of the task force, said, "The events of April 15th were unprecedented. Job losses on this scale have happened before but I can't remember a time when an announcement of this scale happened so suddenly. The West Midlands region had to come to terms with the massive fall out from MG Rover's closure with 6,000 jobs lost overnight.
Former MG Rover workers have refused to lie down and the resilience they have shown, together with the skills they have to offer, means that nearly a quarter of them are now back in work. Thousands more have either started training or will do so in the next few weeks."
He added that the other achievements of the task force included reaching an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs to allow companies to defer VAT payments on the debts they are owed by MG Rover, "This has given 57 companies struggling with cashflow problems much needed breathing space with VAT deferments now totaling £5m," he said.
While admitting that companies, which supplied MG Rover, were "stretched to the limit", Mr. Paul said that they refused to buckle, "Many are working round the clock to keep staff on, find new markets and build for the future," he added.
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