Hodge criticised over Rover jobs remark

Work and Pensions Minister Margaret Hodge has faced heavy criticism for suggesting that former employees of collapsed car manufacturer MG Rover could find new jobs with Tesco.

Mrs Hodge’s remarks were made in a newspaper interview following a visit to Birmingham, where the Longbridge car plant closed two months ago with the loss of over 5,000 jobs.

In the interview, Mrs Hodges mentioned a new Tesco store and said that the creation of new jobs would help to meet the needs of some unemployed people and those seeking work in the area.

The comments have angered the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU). General Secretary Tony Woodley said: “Some government ministers clearly don’t understand the strategic importance of the car industry and its skilled workforce. The TGWU has not given up hope of saving MG Rover jobs and skills even if Margaret Hodge has.”

Julie Kirkbride, the Conservative MP for Bromsgrove, also said that Mrs Hodge’s remarks were “particularly stupid and ill-informed”. Ms Kirkbride said that it was important that former Rover employees found jobs where they could use their existing skills. She said: “Tesco is a first class employer, offering first-class jobs. But it is different.”

Liberal Democrat trade and industry spokesperson Norman Lamb also said that Mrs Hodge’s comments were “ill-judged” and would be “of little use” to former Rover workers. He called on the government to “do all it can” to create appropriate jobs for these “highly trained workers”.

Mrs Hodge has denied that her comments meant that former Rover workers should apply for jobs at Tesco. She said: “In my interview, I said that whilst we all feel immense sympathy for those who lost their jobs, there are a range of new opportunities coming to the West Midlands. One example is the new Tesco Extra at Walsgrave, another is The Green business park to be built just a few miles from MG Rover’s Longbridge factory.”

Mrs Hodges also said that over 1,000 former employees of Rover and its suppliers had been found new employment, while an additional 2,000 had joined training schemes.

Mrs Hodges said that, in spite of the Rover closure, there was a “healthy labour market” in the West Midlands, with 145,000 more people employed in the area than in 1997.

(KMcA/SP)