Vestas

Vestas factory occupation, 2009. Read our pamphlet here.

Vestas: the story so far....

28 April: After telling workers, in 2008, that they planned to re-fit the factories in 2009 to produce larger blades with a better production process, the Danish based multinational Vestas announces instead that it will close the Isle of Wight wind turbine blade factories, the only such factories in Britain.. 15 June: Workers’ Liberty activists arrive in the Isle of Wight to start leafleting and talking to workers about the Vestas factory closure and ways to resist it. 3 July: Workers’ Climate Action and Cowes Trades Council call a public meeting to discuss campaigning against the closure of...

Vestas: Organise, debate, unite in action: Building the broader campaign

Chairing a Vestas workers’ rally in Ryde, Isle of Wight, on 15 August, Mike Godley, one of the workers who occupied the Newport factory from 20 July until evicted on 7 August, read out web postings which attacked “outsiders” in the campaign. The postings claimed that socialist and other activists who have come to the Isle of Wight from the mainland had manipulated the workers. To great applause, Mike Godley refuted the attacks. The socialists and environmental activists have been welcome, he said, and they have provided valuable help to a struggle which continues to be the Vestas workers’ own...

Vestas: What you can do

• Set up a local Vestas workers' support group, involving trade unionists, environmental activists, and socialists. • Organise a visible demonstration of solidarity, especially on the next national day of action, 17 September. • Send a donation from your trade union or other organisation, or make a personal donation, with a message of support: cheques payable to Ryde and East Wight Trades Union Council, 22 Church Lane, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 2NB. • Send a motion to your union leadership demanding they actively back the Vestas workers and their demands. This is particularly important in...

Workers’ Climate Action conference, 10 October

The Workers’ Climate Action network is meeting for its second conference on 10 October 2009 in London. Over the last year, we have been active in the environmental and labour movements advocating class struggle activism as the key battleground in the fight against ecological destruction. Our involvement has meant the Climate Camp has given its solidarity to the London Underground tubeworkers in their dispute over pay, conditions and jobs. Their solidarity in turn has raised the question of free (or very cheap) public transport as a necessary step towards an ecological future. We have spoken to...

17 September day of action

Vestas bosses and the Government continue to stall in face of the struggle by the Vestas wind turbine blade workers on the Isle of Wight against the closure of their factories. But the ripples of support for the workers continues to spread out. In mid-August, international messages of support have arrived from Chile and Australia. New local support groups are being set up. As labour movement meetings get back into gear after the July-August holiday period, the support can continue to grow. The next national day of solidarity, on 17 September, can be bigger than the last one on 12 August...

Help support our work around Vestas

In the last couple of months, the AWL along with many other activities, has played a crucial role in helping to spark and then supporting the Vestas workers’ struggle. That activity — travelling to the Isle of Wight, producing bulletins, leaflets, a paper to help spread the word — all costs a lot of money. The activity — and the cost! — will continue in the coming weeks and months. That is the sort of thing we do as an organisation. Such activities are among the reasons why you should join the AWL. But whether you're a member or not, why not help support us in our work around Vestas by making...

Don't like bankers? Join the SWP!

The Socialist Workers' Party held a public meeting in Newport (on the Isle of Wight, near the Vestas St Cross plant) on Monday 17 August. As it was above a pub and many of the most active members of the Vestas workers' strike committee were unaccountably in attendance, me and Robin Sivapalan went along to hear Judith Orr explain "the capitalist crisis and the socialist solution". I counted 20 in attendance, of whom four were Vestas workers, two were myself and Robin, and at least eight were SWP, including John Molyneux at the back and Bobby Noyes at the front. Judith began. The speech could be...

Vestas workers and supporters speak out

Interviews with workers and supporters from the struggle against closure of the Vestas wind turbine blade factories on the Isle of Wight. Chris Ash was a worker at the East Cowes Vestas factory, and was one of the occupiers in Newport. He spoke to us in mid-August 2009 The last three weeks have not just changed my views, but changed my life. Before, I was just a normal worker. I came into work, I did the job. I didn't really care what I was building. I got paid and I went home. Now I understand that we're doing something for the future, for our kids and our grandkids. It's going to help change...

Vestas: spread the solidarity!

About 150 Vestas workers and supporters marched through Ryde, Isle of Wight, on 15 August. The demonstration was part of a plan to take the campaign to all parts of the Isle of Wight. Most protest has until recently been concentrated in Newport, the county town of the island and the site of the main Vestas wind turbine blade factory. Next Saturday, 22nd, there will be a demonstration in Sandown. A Vestas workers' Ryde support group, made up of local people, is now being established: for more details, email portsmouth@rmt.org.uk . Chairing the rally at the start of the demonstration, Mike...

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