Support Vestas occupation

Vestas jobs fightback

Faced with the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight, the workers have decided to occupy the factory immediately and step up the fight to save the factory and their jobs. This follows threats and intimidations from management.

The key organisers called a meeting on the factory floor and unanimously decided to return to the plant at 7pm on 20 July to begin the occupation.

20 workers occupied the management offices and held out throughout the night waiting for reinforcements from other shifts. Spirits are high and the local police, who initially appeared hostile, backed away.

As soon as the workers occupied, calls to trade unionists across the region were answered. Members of the transport union RMT immediately left Portsmouth, crossing the Solent to the factory in solidarity.

Please send your messages of solidarity and support to: savevestas@googlemail.com

The Vestas factory on the Isle of Wight, the only wind turbine factory in the UK, is closing, taking over 600 jobs with it – but the workers of Vestas are organising their fightback. They began a factory occupation on 20 July.

Ben Norman

Following the open meetings and the first tentative campaign steps events have moved fast.

On 13 July Socialist Party (CWI England and Wales) members from branches in Portsmouth and Southampton joined local activists and Vestas workers in Newport, Isle of Wight, in the first public sign of action since the previous week’s open meeting.

Public support is overwhelmingly in support of the workers and people queued in the pouring rain to sign petitions and write messages of support.

While this was taking place, key workers were organising on the factory floor.

The following week a workers’ campaign committee was formed to discuss demands and organise the fightback. Some key organisers have joined a trade union and are now working to unionise the rest of the workforce.

Shamefully, despite this progress, local politicians continue to turn their backs on the workers.

The island’s Tory MP Andrew Turner has already washed his hands of the issue and now he is joined by Portsmouth North MP, Sarah McCarthy-Fry, who is clearly more interested in her new position in the treasury. She refused to sign the petition supporting the workers.

Energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband has talked of the jobs that will be created as Britain reaches the target of 30% of electricity generation through renewable sources in the next ten years. Yet this does not seem to include jobs at Vestas.

In spite of this, the workers have continued to organise themselves.

Messages of support have rained in and members of Unite, the RMT, Unison, and the CWU have shown their support for the workers’ struggle.

The Socialist Party stands shoulder to shoulder with the workers of Vestas in their struggle; we support their demands and call for:

• Immediate trade union recognition.
• No to job cuts – keep the factory open.
• Nationalise the factory under workers’ control – power to the shop floor.
• Make the plant a building block for a new publicly owned green sector to provide more jobs and improve the environment.