Rayleigh MP Mark Francois reacted to the news that power company E.ON are proposing to cut up to 660 jobs at their call centre in Rayleigh, by asking the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to ensure assistance would be provided to any of his constituents being made redundant.
Mark raised the issue directly with the Prime Minister at Prime Minister’s Questions, this lunchtime, when he asked:
“The power company E.ON has just announced the proposed closure of their Rayleigh call centre, with the loss of over 600 jobs.
Given the sad news, can the Prime Minister assure me that every possible support will be provided by the Business Department and the Jobcentre Plus Network, in order to assist my constituents and their families and help those made redundant secure alternative employment, if the proposed closure goes through?”
In reply, the Prime Minister said that the rapid response unit of the Jobcentre Plus organisation would be made available to help people affected by the proposed closure.
Commenting on his intervention at Prime Ministers Questions, Rayleigh's MP said:
""The proposed closure is very sad news for Rayleigh. The workforce has been loyal to E.ON and I hope that it might yet be possible to persuade the company to reconsider this decision, which would have such an adverse impact on my constituents. However, if that is not the case then it is vital that they should be given every assistance in order to try and find another job in what is obviously a difficult employment market.”
