WORKERS at Remploy factories in Blackburn and Burnley are set to vote on strike action in a row over redundancies.

A ballot will take place among GMB union members at 54 Remploy factories, with a result expected in six weeks.

Staff are unhappy that proposals for voluntary redundancy were being rolled out just seven days after the legal consultation period of 90 days began in January.

Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said: “The Big Society, if it exists, must surely encompass society finding useful work for disabled workers.”

Nationally Remploy wants to shed around half its 3,000 workers under a voluntary redundancy scheme.

The Blackburn factory, in Bank Top, employs 49 people, while the Burnley site, on Smallshaw Industrial Estate, has 40 workers.

The disabled workers at Blackburn make furniture, and the Burnley plant manufactures corrugated boxes.