The news that E.ON is proposing to close its office in Wath is disappointing and will have come as a shock to their committed workers. The loss of around 250 jobs is a big blow to our area.
I’m talking to E.ON, and this has included contacting the chief executive directly to urge him to seriously consider keeping their Dearne operation going at another location. After all, they’re saying the Wath office is performing well and their plan to close has come about because of the end of a lease.
I’m also in touch with the unions involved and am fighting for E.ON to agree to redeploy and retrain as many staff as possible. If there is no other option I want to see a decent redundancy package on the table.
I’ve also questioned local DWP bosses about their readiness to respond, and they’ve confirmed to me that they’re set up to support staff with retraining and finding another job.