'Please will somebody give me a job?' – former Remploy worker Graeme Watson begs employers to give him a chance

Graeme Watson barely missed a day’s work for 27 years, steadily building up a work record that would put anyone to shame.

All the 46-year-old Peterlee man wants to do is work – yet these days he barely leaves his bedroom, spending his time filling in one fruitless job application after another and reminiscing about his former life as a Remploy factory worker.

Forklift truck driver Graeme – who is disabled - has been out of work since the Remploy factory in Spennymoor closed almost three years ago, forced to endure rejection after rejection in his search for a job.

He’s become isolated, withdrawn and frustrated – he can’t comprehend why the government chose to close the factory that gave him a job, self-esteem and a second family.

“It’s terrible,” he says, “We tried to stop them but we couldn’t.”

His ageing parents – 72-year-olds Audrey and Ernie – worry about their son and what will happen to him when they’re gone.

“He only comes out of his room at mealtimes,” says Mrs Watson, “I’ll go up to his room and sometimes I’ll find him just staring at a photo of him with all of the Remploy workers, it’s heartbreaking.

“He just wants a job – it would get him out meeting people again, he’d be happier and there’d be less worry.

“I worry because I don’t know what will happen when we’re gone – I wonder if he’ll ever get a job or just be left wandering the streets, it’s gut-wrenching.”

Graeme's father adds: “Any friends he had were at Remploy – it was like a second family and it was devastating when it shut down.”

In his search for work, Graeme has sent off hundreds of applications and has attended scores of interviews.

Employers, his parents say, consistently fail to take into account Graeme’s skills and instead, discriminate against him because he’s disabled.

As part of the interview process, he’s often made to sit tests – in English and maths – that his disabilities prevent him from being successful in.

Either that, his dad says, or employers simply fail to respond once they realise the scope of Graeme’s disabilities – disabilities the Watson family believe are absolutely irrelevant to the work Graeme wants to do.

“He’s been applying for jobs for more than two years and had quite a few interviews in that time – his job centre advisor said he applies for more jobs than anybody else he sees,” says Mr Watson Sr.

“But it seems as though as soon as they find out he’s disabled, nobody wants to know – I’ll tell them he’s disabled, they say he won’t be able to do the job or they don’t come back.”

Mr and Mrs Watson are justifiably proud of their son, of his work ethic and the skills he’s picked up during his former career.

Mrs Watson said: “Give him a job to do or a problem to solve and he’ll do it, he’ll work until it’s sorted, he’s very clever in that way and if he’s shown what to do, he can pick it up straight away.”

The family is so desperate for employers to take a chance on Graeme that they say he will work for nothing for two weeks, just for the chance to prove himself.

“He’s eager to work, he’s obliging and willing to try new things,” says his dad.

“It’s no good sitting him down at a table and saying complete this form but take him onto the shop floor and show him what to do and you’ll have no problem at all.”

Three years after their son lost his job, Graeme’s parents remain furious at the government that uprooted him from the life he knew, the work he loved and the friends he treasured.

“This isn’t just happening to Graeme,” says his dad, “it’s happening to most of the people who came out of Remploy.

“It’s a government-created situation that should never have happened.

“Cameron and Osborne might have enough money to deal with situations like this, but normal families like ours don’t – we don’t know who to turn to for help.

“They said the factories closed because there was no work but they ran them down and now our son is not getting the opportunities he deserves.”

His devoted mother ends our interview with a moving plea: “Just give him a chance and you’d be my friend for life, we’d be so grateful – it would mean everything, all our worries would be gone.”

Can you give Graeme a job? Anyone who could offer an opportunity in the County Durham or Teesside area should email joanna.morris@nne.co.uk

Mr Watson has a clean driving licence, forklift experience and is comfortable working on the shop or factory floor.