Unions have urged the public to get behind disabled Remploy workers as they step up their fight to save their jobs, writes Peter Lazenby.
The factory workers will take four days of strike action from Monday at Chesterfield in Derbyshire and Springburn in Glasgow.
The government announced in July its intention to shut 27 Remploy factories with the loss of 1,700 jobs. Nine factories face possible privatisation but their future is uncertain and the remaining 18 sites are due to close or be sold off next year.
GMB national secretary Phil Davies said that two recent 24-hour strikes by Remploy workers had "received enormous public support."
Remploy workers have fought hard against the heartless government sell-offs. Last week a group of sacked workers stormed the firm's headquarters in Leicester.
Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller has said she wants Remploy funding to be diverted to employment support services.
Official inflation figures understate the real extent of rising costs, but even the government's own CPI scheme lays bare the ongoing misery for working people and those dependent on benefits.