A leading union is to mount a campaign to re-open one of the Remploy factories affected by a closure programme after discovering that almost half the disabled staff who used to work there have not found another job.
The GMB said there was a strong case for saving the factory in York which used to make chemical warfare suits for the military.
National officer Phil Davies said a union survey of the 2,500 Remploy workers who lost their jobs showed that hundreds have not found other work and did not take redundancy so were being paid under a compensation scheme to stay at home.
Remploy workers lobbied delegates at the Labour conference in Manchester on Tuesday urging support for the GMB's campaign.
Mr Davies said many former Remploy workers were now working in charity shops so were not using the skills they had previously acquired.
A total of 29 Remploy factories closed over the past year but Mr Davies said the union feared more could shut.
Of the 54 people who used to work in the York factory 23 had not found another job, he said.
Mr Davies said the Government had treated Remploy workers "disgracefully" and had let them down.
"This has affected thousands of workers but also their friends and families. There is a lot of bitterness over the way the Government handled the closures."
Mr Davies and dozens of other GMB members have resigned from the Labour Party in protest at the Remploy closures.
