Thousands of textile jobs at risk as M&S pulls out

REDUNDANCY has come to haunt the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley once again. This time it is not the threat of mines closing that is the cause, but Marks & Spencer, long committed to selling British-made goods. Last week the high-street retailer did an about-turn on its commitment to home-grown manufacture and said it would use overseas suppliers for its goods in future.

The result is that as many as 60,000 jobs in the textile industry could be at risk across the country, according to the unions. The impact on Barnsley alone will be devastating. After the pit closures, women became the main breadwinners in the town. Many still have jobs at S R Gent, which is one of Marks & Spencer's main suppliers. The company employs 1,340 of the town's population of 227,000, and Marks & Spencer's decision could cut 500 of them. Many families could again find themselves faced with financial hardship.

S R Gent's drab factories, which dominate a hill overlooking the town, have always been a touchstone for job security for the people of Barnsley, where the unemployment rate is 2 per cent above the national average.

Cardia Fasche has worked at S R Gent since the age of 17. Ten years on, she is still young enough to retrain with an NVQ in tailoring and a word- processing course. She believes other people at the company are not so fortunate.

"Older women will find it hard because there is not much else they can do," she said.

"Many have worked there all their lives and they do not have any other qualifications. I don't think the reality has hit people yet, and some just kid themselves that everything will be all right."

Miss Fasche feels so betrayed that she is boycotting the M&S store in the town centre.

"The unions say there is nothing they can do but I feel very angry. I don't think it should be allowed," she added.

The impression in Barnsley's concrete maze of shopping precincts is that people are already starting to hold on tight to their wage packets.

Down at the market, trade is only two-thirds of what is used to be. Rows of school trousers which once cost pounds 9.99 are now being sold for pounds 5.99. But they still find few buyers.

Shoe Express, The Sweater Shop and Dolcis have all deserted the town and many of the units in the new Alhambra centre remain vacant.

However, business has remained brisk for pawnbrokers Herbert Brown since the miners' strike of 1983-84. Kevin Leask, area manager for the company, says Marks & Spencer's decision will be another blow to a town which is still picking itself up after the pit closures.

"Whenever there is a recession, then we find that we are lending people more money against valuables such as jewellery," he said.

"People know they can come to us in a recession to feed their families and get their goods back at the end.

"The people of Barnsley are very dependent on Marks & Spencer for work. I think the company is shooting itself in the foot because British goods used to mean quality and they won't have that image any more."

At the Jobcentre, the main vacancies on display are for drivers and security guards. However, these jobs involve long hours and pay as little as pounds 2.50 an hour. This amounts to exploitation, according to the people of Barnsley.

In fact, when an electrical factory opened in town recently it was picketed by former miners in protest at the low wages being offered.

Alan Wogan is one of the lucky ones. He has work in a laboratory but still shares the sense that Barnsley has been neglected.

"The feeling during the strike was that the Tories were out to get working- class people. The pit closures nearly ripped our guts out," he said.

"When Labour got in we thought things would change and they would plough money into the mines.

"But they have been pathetic. Men here are having to work 80 to 90 hours a week on low pay. This can only make things worse. Most of the jobs in the Jobcentre no one wants."

However, Barnsley does have a strong survival instinct. It braved extreme hardship during the miners' strike and when its football team was relegated from the Premiership the whole town stuck "We'll be back" stickers in their cars.

Kathy Harries, a student, says Barnsley people tend to stay loyal to the town instead of deserting it in hard times.

"If you are born and bred here, you tend to stay here. It won't become a ghost-town," she said. "We are the sort of people who just get on with life but will fight back if we are pushed."