EMPLOYMENT

Mark Pirie

Job centre staff have begun giving talks to Müller staff in East Kilbride as the axe prepares to fall on the factory.

The town was dealt a major jobs blow with the announcement last year that 131 workers face the axe at the town’s historic dairy.

Müller Milk & Ingredients are consulting on plans to end milk processing at the Nerston plant – with a closing date still to be confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said that the number of redundances is not known.

However, they stated that they have delivered presentations to around 50 people to help them quickly get back into work.

The news comes as the number of people claiming Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance fell in June 2017.

Annually from June 2016, the figures for claimants in East Kilbride fell by 18 per cent and dropped by 3.6 per cent from May 2017.

However, the monthly statistics in Avondale and Stonehouse were disappointing with a sharp increase in claimants of 11 per cent from May to June.

The East Kilbride Central North council ward had the highest number of claimants with 140.

East Kilbride Central South followed with 115, East Kilbride South had 113 and East Kilbride East had 99.

East Kilbride West again has the lowest amount of claimants with just 39 in June.

East Kilbride had a higher average reduction in unemployment than South Lanarkshire, which saw a 2.4 per cent drop in claimants since last month.

The trend in East Kilbride reflects the trend across South Lanarkshire, with a 15 per cent annual drop and a monthly decrease of 2.1 per cent.

Across Scotland there was a year-on-year fall of 14 per cent, despite a month rise by 4.3 per cent.

The DWP hope that the ‘The Range’ opening in Nerston on August 25 will continue to help people get back into work