Solidarity march in Skelton over threat to shut Texon factory
They will be gathering in East Cleveland today
Textile workers past and present will be marching in solidarity in East Cleveland today over the threat to close the Texon factory in Skelton.
It makes high-quality insoles for sportswear brands and has been in Cleveland for over 50 years.
The march will take place from 11am from the Texon factory to Skelton High Street.
On Wednesday 18th October, the employer announced it was entering a redundancy consultation with a view of closing the factory and moving all work to Indonesia.
Unite says they believe that employees in Indonesia will be paid on average £3,000 a year whereas Unite’s members are paid on average £30,000. The Texon factory, owned by the Coats Group, is one of its most profitable factories.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a profitable factory that has been a pillar of the community in Skelton for half a century. This threat of closure is solely because of corporate greed.
“Unite will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members in their fight for their jobs against this closure.”
The Union says Coats has already cancelled the long-term lease on the factory building and has instead agreed to a one-year lease between the 25 October 2023 to 25 October 2024, to allow them to close down the factory and remove all machinery. Unite say they believe this to be a pre-meditated decision to close even though the collective redundancy consultation has not yet concluded.
Unite regional officer Fazia Hussein-Brown said “Any closure would have a devastating effect on the local economy as well as the lives of our members. The people of Skelton will be coming together to fight this closure as a community.”