WORKERS at a York factory which could be under threat of the axe have found support from York MP Hugh Bayley.

Mr Bayley was at the city's Remploy factory, in Layerthorpe, to help aid the campaign to save the organisation from swathing cuts.

Up to 37 Remploy factories across the country could be shut as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

York's Remploy base in Redeness Street is one of 83 nationwide - and it's not yet clear whether it will survive.

Mr Bayley met factory manager Carl Ventress and some of the 53 people who work at the centre, which provides employment and rehabilitation for disabled people.

In July, Mr Bayley wrote to work and pensions minister Anne McGuire on behalf of constituent Tracy Cross.

He urged the minister to support people at the York factory, stating it would be difficult for them to move into mainstream employment if the centre was to close.

He revealed that Tracy had worked at Remploy for 26 years, and was a stitching inspector. He said her family worried that she would find it difficult to work unsupported and would miss her friends who work with her.

Mr Bayley said: "The Government should be doing more to help disabled people to find work. Some want jobs in mainstream employment and the Government can help employers to adapt the workplace to make it suitable for disabled people, or to subsidise the job if the disabled person works more slowly.

"But there will always be some, like Tracy Cross, who needs to work in sheltered employment. It is very unsettling for the people at the York Remploy factory, wondering whether they will be able to continue to work there. A decision must be made as soon as possible. I want the factory to stay open but, if it closes, alternative sheltered employment must be found for people like Tracy. Remploy is not just a job. She's been there for 26 years and her friends work there too."