A LOCAL MP has put pressure on the UK Government over the future of the Tollcross McVitie's factory under threat of closure.
David Linden who represents Glasgow East led an adjournment debate in Westminster this afternoon.
He emphasised the human cost the potential closure would have.
Mr Linden pleaded with pladis to rethink plans to close the factory and make around 500 workers redundant. He said: "The proposal to close the factory cannot go ahead.
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"It would completely devastate the local area and create an economic scar that would remain for a great many years to come. Your staff do not deserve to be treated with contempt. They have been instrumental in your success. Their parents and grandparents built your business. To you this is business, but to us this is deeply personal."
He also paid tribute to the 'grassroots' campaigners including Paul Smith, who has been spearheading the workers response to the closure. The petition calling on pladis to save jobs received a huge boost today and is sitting at almost 70,000 signatures.
Gavin Newlands MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North pressed the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy minister Paul Scully on what the UK Government had done so far to support workers.
Mr Scully said: "These decisions are not taken on a spreadsheet, there is a human cost here.
"It is so important we remember what is at stake here.
"It is these employees and their families who really are so central to the debate and we must continue to focus our efforts on them to secure a positive future."
"I sympathise with all of those who will have been affected by the company's decision to close the Tollcross site factory which is so importatn to the community and the wider local economy."
The minister emphasised that the decision to close the factory was a commerical decision made by pladis.
He made assurances that the UK Government would work with the Tollcross employees to support them through the redundancy process as well as working in parternship with the Scottish Government to ensure more jobs are brought to Scotland.
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