LOCAL Labour Assembly Member, Joyce Watson, has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to act now to mitigate the impact of the closure of the Corus plant in Llandybie.
In a debate at the National Assembly for Wales on Wednesday (27 January 2009), the mid and west Wales AM welcomed the Assembly Government’s pledged to help every steel worker made redundant from Corus in Wales find another job, but warned that areas like Ammanford needed targeted support and re-investment, to offset the ‘devastating’ impact of job losses.
Joyce said:
“It is not enough to say that the news from Corus is disappointing, because for those people who now find themselves out of work, it is devastating.
“The loss of 73 skilled jobs in Llandybie gives rise to a very serious situation for the local community and will, undoubtedly, have a negative impact on the town and surrounding area.
“We know that the operation has been shut down and that some people may be offered jobs elsewhere, perhaps in North Wales, but if they do seek those jobs—and I have grave doubts that they will—those skills will be lost from the area.”
Speaking shortly after the debate, Joyce said:
“Llandybie and Ammanford cannot afford to lose skilled jobs on this scale. The area needs targeted re-investment now to ensure that new businesses are attracted to the area and new opportunities for real employment are created – otherwise the local economy and community will suffer not just in the immediate future, but further down the line. That cannot be allowed to happen.”
The Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy responded, saying:
“We will want to see what we can do to assist the community to overcome the difficulties that it is currently facing, and regardless of whether we see the loss of 73 jobs in a small community like Llandybie or major job losses in other areas, the impact on the community is significant and we will want to do what we can to help.
“I assure you that we, through the economic summits, will collaborate closely with agencies and local authorities to see what action we can take to regenerate the economy. We shall certainly look at areas such as Llandybie and Ammanford.”
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