A new company which will make uniforms for the NHS has taken on disabled workers who lost their jobs when Remploy factories were shut down.
A total of 26 people who were made redundant as a result of the closures have been recruited to work at the Haven PTS Ltd factory in Stirling, the Scottish Government announced.
Health Secretary Alex Neil joined enterprise minister Fergus Ewing to officially launch the new textile manufacturing business - which has been awarded a three-year contract for nurses' uniforms for the NHS in Scotland worth up to £1.5 million a year.
Mr Ewing said that by last month less than half of the approximately 250 people who lost their jobs as a result of the Remploy closures had started in a new position.
But the Scottish Government has now launched a new directory to showcase the work of supported businesses - those firms where more than half the workers are disabled and would be unable to work in the open labour market.
Mr Neil said: "I am delighted that nurses' uniforms for the NHS across Scotland will now be provided by Haven PTS Ltd and that this work has enabled the company to take on so many former Remploy employees.
"This work, which is worth up to £1.5 million per annum, will enable Haven to provide up to 150,000 tunics and 100,000 pairs of trousers for NHS workers across Scotland each year while providing sustainable jobs for many workers and helping to stimulate the local economy."
Mr Ewing said that since April 2012 he had been "working very hard to mitigate the effects of the UK Government closure of Remploy factories in Scotland".
The minister added: "I chaired the Remploy stakeholders group, which sought to explore any possible future employment opportunities for affected Remploy employees, and I am delighted that our hard work has resulted in Haven PTS Ltd being able to take on 26 members of staff.
"Throughout the process to sell or close the Remploy businesses, I visited the factories, and indeed I came here to Stirling and saw for myself the high level of skills and experience the workforce have in the manufacture of high-quality workwear.
"Without these new opportunities with Haven PTS Ltd, all of the Remploy staff would have been left unemployed and struggled to find new jobs.
"DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) claimed most would find alternative employment, but as of December last year less than half of the 250 or so staff made redundant have failed to enter new employment.
"The Scottish Government is determined to safeguard these jobs from Westminster cuts and will fight to protect the strong supported business sector that exists in Scotland."
Mr Ewing said the new supported businesses directory "showcases the extensive range of high-quality goods and services available from the Scottish supported business sector which is already supplying competitively into both public and private markets, including the new Haven factory".
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