Labour Lets Down Wrexham Workers - Burnham

3.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 19th Sep 2006

Eleanor Burnham AM has, in the first Plenary of the new Assembly term, challenged the Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks over the loss of over 100 jobs at the Duracell battery plant in Wrexham.

Ms Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, has forced Welsh job losses to the top of the Assembly agenda at a time when Labour is celebrating Wales' record breaking unemployment levels.

Ms Burnham said: "Labour has once again let down Welsh workers. The loss of these jobs at Duracell in Wrexham is just the latest in a string of recent closures that have left communities across Wales struggling.

"Wrexham does not benefit from Objective One funding and I often feel that it's a low priority on the Minister's radar.

"I glad that the Minister has agreed to do everything he can to help those workers and their families affected by this closure, but it is simply not good enough to react after jobs are lost. We need an audit of the manufacturing industry in Wales to identify where the pressure points are and where we need to intervene - before workers lose out.

"While the government says the Welsh economy is working, we have seen yet another local source of jobs disappear."

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