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'Light at the end of the tunnel' for pottery workers

Jennie AitkenBBC Stoke and Staffordshire political reporter
News imageBBC Sharon Yates is looking at the camera, and has shoulder-length brown hair and has black-framed glasses on. She is sat down and has a white apron on over a yellow top and a dark cardigan. In her hand is a small pot, and behind her is a pottery production area.BBC
Sharon Yates, from the GMB union, has been fighting for job security for pottery workers for 18 months, but says it's still a "long road"

For the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent, news this week the government will commit to a £120m support package to protect the industry is long overdue, but it has been welcomed.

Firms are struggling with rising energy costs and a challenging market - something that spurred on pottery worker and GMB union member Sharon Yates to, as she puts it, "fight for the pots".

"It is a long road to get to where we want, but this news of £120m, it will protect jobs and it will also protect the city," Yates says.

Ministers are set to work with the industry to establish exactly how the money should be spent.

Around £60m is due to go towards helping firms modernise, decarbonise, and become less reliant on gas-fired kilns.

Many manufacturers use electric kilns already, but say they could do with support to invest in appropriate drying equipment.

News imagePeter Kyle wears a blue jacket and white shirt, he is standing at Emma Bridgewater factory, surrounded by tableware and union jacks.
Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle, was given a tour of the Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke-on-Trent after the government announced a £120m support package for the sector

Business and Industry Secretary Peter Kyle visited the Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke-on-Trent, as part of the government's pledge to the industry.

During a tour, he was asked why the department had only decided to invest now, and where the money had come from.

"It is not easy to find this money, believe me," Kyle said. "I'm investing in different areas of business and industry at the moment, so we can get the growth into the economy that we need."

He added he was was aware of how damaging de-industrialisation had been for Stoke.

"This is a one-off moment in time, I believe, because it hasn't happened for a long time in the sector, to really help the sector face the challenges of the future," he continued.

'Up against a brick wall'

Yates described the fight for job security as being "up against a brick wall, and you have to keep tapping" to get the government to listen and act.

She said she has campaigned for 18 months, including going down to Westminster, lobbying with MPs, meeting ministers, along with staging local protests.

"The cash is vital- but the recognition is so important," she added.

Kyle's announcement was long overdue, but she has enjoyed the feeling of relief that it has finally happened.

"You believe in something, and then you can see a light at the end of the tunnel," she said.

"It's like winning the lottery for the people of the pottery industry."

News imageDavid Williams David Williams, wearing an open button shirt, smiling in front of the backdrop of his constituency, including Mow Cop Castle at the top of a hill, with houses at the bottom in the background. David Williams
David Williams, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said it had been a two-year fight, with the announcement the "culmination of lots of hard work"

One of those involved in lobbying the government for support for ceramics was Stoke-on-Trent North's Labour MP David Williams.

Williams said getting the package was complicated, because ceramics needed a "bespoke scheme, as opposed to fitting into others".

When asked whether this announcement was made in response to Labour's poor results in the local elections, he said: "This has been going on for two years, it's been the culmination of lots of hard work and I'm just really pleased we've secured the money for the sector".

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