º£½ÇÊÓÆµ

Oops.

Our website is temporarily unavailable in your location.

We are working hard to get it back online.

PRIVACY
Economic Development

Anger as David Cameron breaks pledge to help British Gas workers

Taskforce vow over hundreds of job losses in the Black Country has been reversed

Prime Minister David Cameron is under fire over a pledge to help British Gas workers(Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

The Prime Minister has broken his promise to set up a Government taskforce to help nearly 700 Black Country

David Cameron told the House of Commons he would create "a taskforce of Ministers" to talk to British Gas and to ensure any workers made redundant were helped to find new work.

But the Government has now said that no such taskforce is necessary.

Business Secretary and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid pointed out plans to close an office in Oldbury, resulting in the loss of 684 office and call centre roles, were not yet final.

However, this was also clear when the initial promise was made because the changes were the subject of a consultation with the workforce - standard practice when firms make job cuts.

British Gas, which is part of utility group Centrica, launched a 45-day consultation with affected workers and unions about the closure plan on April 20.

The issue was raised in the House of Commons the same day by local MP John Spellar (Lab Warley), who asked Mr Cameron: "Will the Prime Minister instruct his ministers to immediately contact the company and the unions and to arrange urgent meetings preferably to save these jobs or, if that proves impossible, to establish a task force to create alternative opportunities for this loyal and had working workforce?"

In response, the Prime Minister told him: "I can certainly give the honourable gentleman that assurance. We will make sure that a taskforce of ministers is available to talk to the company, to talk to the local community, to provide all the assistance in terms of retraining and other things that can be done to help."