Coffin protest as disabled staff lose jobs

They pushed a coffin to nearby Cottingley Hall Cemetery to symbolise the death of the packing and manufacturing factory, which employed 60 workers.

It followed the closure of 27 Remploy factories in August, including Pontefract where 28 jobs were lost.

The closures are a result of a controversial Government scheme to switch spending to help individual workers find jobs in mainstream sectors.

Unions say axing supported employment at Remploy will lead to more than 1,700 job losses – mostly among disabled employees.

Partially deaf Tony Gledhill, 44, of York Road, Leeds, has worked for Remploy for 27 years.

He said: “It is a very sad day. The majority of people will end up on benefits. They will suffer from depression, disabilities will flare up.”