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Vestas - support needed to prevent blades leaving UK

Peter Pannier | 22.08.2009 17:48 | Climate Chaos | Energy Crisis | Social Struggles | South Coast | World

Vestas 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 pounds – remained unfinished in the Isle of Wight factories. A group of workers occupied the St Cross factory from 20 July, and from that day Vestas bosses, fearful of further occupations, told all other workers both at St Cross and at the other factory, Venture Quays, to stay home on full pay until it finally made them redundant on 12 August. The probability must be that Vestas has those 11 blades booked on to one of the sailings scheduled soon, and will move soon to finish them and try to move them by barge to Southampton. Discussions are also taking place with Dock workers in the US where the blades would be exported, about refusing to unload any deliveries.

To help you, dear reader, to organise demos and show your support, attached are A4 posters in no particular order. One is designed to be printed 2 per page (2 up) as an A5 flyer. Word is that the Isle of Wight neighbourhood at the Climate Camp is the place to be, second to the Magic Roundabout Solidarity camp, that is... ;-)

Peter Pannier
- e-mail: stroud@bicycology.org.uk