Union vows to fight on for BlindCraft

TRADE union leaders today vowed not to give up the fight to save the closure-threatened Blindcraft factory.

Councillors last week agreed to launch a 30-day consultation period over two proposals; to close the Craigmillar centre, which provides work making beds to dozens of disabled and blind people, or reduce the grant by 700,000 and turn it into a "training model", which would involve job losses.

But Fraser Queen, branch secretary of the Community trade union, said: "We definitely do not see that all is lost.

"We are more than willing to work with management and other unions to find a solution."

He said that an immediate 700,000 reduction in council funding "is not feasible in one year" but added that the company might survive if the funding reduction were to be phased over more than 12 months.

"We need to look at a bit of lee-way," said Mr Queen.