Defending jobs

For a full list of all stories on this website about Vestas, click here . Key articles below: What you can do - practical solidarity The story so far - timeline 28 April to 18 August Why wind turbine production should be publicly owned - Government minister Joan Ruddock challenged face-to-face on her "principles" Workers and supporters speak out - interviews on 14 and 15 August Organise, debate, unite in action: Building the broader campaign - discussion of the contribution of the activists from the mainland who rallied to the picket lines (20 August) An activist's diary: how the campaign...

Direct action will be needed. We are asking for help with that Mark Smith, one of the Vestas occupiers, spoke at a Workers’ Liberty meeting in London on Tuesday 25th August. For a full list of all stories on this website about Vestas, click here . Key stories: What you can do - practical solidarity The story so far - timeline 28 April to 18 August Why wind turbine production should be publicly owned - Government minister Joean Ruddock challenged face-to-face on her "principles" Workers and supporters speak out - interviews on 14 and 15 August Organise, debate, unite in action: Building the...

The wind-turbine-making multinational Vestas, which currently faces a fight by workers in its blade factories in the Isle of Wight (Britain's only wind-turbine-blade factories) against moves to shut those factories, has started rapidly shipping blades from stock in Southampton to the USA. Two ships carrying 90 blades each have sailed from Southampton this week (17-21 August), and a third is currently being loaded with 109 blades. According to the Vestas workers' contacts in Southampton docks, another two sailings are scheduled soon. Around 11 blades - worth over three quarters of a million...

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...

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...

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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The Guardian newspaper sold a lot of copies on the back of the Vestas dispute, including reaping some sizeable advertising revenue from the Vestas company itself. They didn't print this letter below, from Workers' Climate Action and a number of the workers, some of whom had been involved in the occupation itself. Perhaps if we had some more advertising spend... Dear Editor, Further to your report (“Vestas factory closes despite campaign”), and in spite of the redundancies announced at Vestas, Isle of Wight yesterday, the campaign to save the only major wind turbine blade manufacturer in the UK...

Workers at the Vestas wind turbine blade factories on the Isle of Wight have today (12 August) received letters saying that their employment is terminated as from 12 August, and promising them final payments (the remaining wages, redundancy pay, etc.) "within 21 days", i.e. by 2 September. The redundancies were first scheduled for 31 July. Then Vestas bosses rescheduled them for "in the week beginning Monday 10 August". Then, surprisingly, they sent out another later saying that the redundancy date was not yet set, suggesting a further postponement. Then today's letters. The letters put the...

Vestas workers have scheduled a second national day of solidarity action for 9 September, to follow up from the first on 12 August. The longer lead time gives us time to work to get trade unions, Trades Councils, campaigning organisations, local Labour Parties, etc. to vote support for the day of action and get together to organise activities. The workers hope to get local solidarity groups organised in the different towns of the Isle of Wight tomorrow, 12 August. In the run-up to 9 September, we should aim to get solidarity groups set up in every city in the country.