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Get down to Vestas - Occupy, Camp, Resist, Cook, Produce!

George Hill | 27.09.2009 20:50 | Climate Chaos | Energy Crisis | Workers' Movements | South Coast | World

There has been a camp outside the Vestas factory on the St. Cross Business Park, Dodnor Lane, Newport, Isle of Wight, since at least the beginning of the Occupation of the factory on 20th July this year. The camp has a well established kitchen run by volunteers who serve quality vegan evening meals 'Roundabout 8', with lunch and breakfast also provided and sometimes cooked too. Those who occupied the factory are often present, together with climate campers and those from assorted lefty groups and unions. Get down there and join 'em! ...and take some cake with ya!












Also at the camp is a caravan serving as a site/campaign office, a standpipe for freshwater, a chemical toilet, a bike-powered smoothie maker (in bits), a fair amount of solar capacity and salvaged sealed lead acid batteries providing the bare minimum of power to charge radios, phones and a laptop. There's a recently erected marquee, and a 'living room' of sorts, with comfy chairs and an ever-burnin' oil-drum brazier. There are even spare tents and sleeping bags rescued from being sent to landfill post-Bestival. The weather is generally better than the mainland, the ferry trip is expensive but beautiful and exciting. The locals and welcoming and supportive of the campaign, and the island is full of beautiful countryside including plenty of Mighty Oak trees.

The three main aims of the campaign and camp are to achieve:

1. Full reinstatement of the 11 workers sacked for occupying their factory in an attempt to save the jobs of 600 employed there - these workers have still not been paid any redundancy though to pay them equivalent redundancy to the other workers would cost Vestas a tiny £45,000. The workers are also campaigning for a better redundancy package for all workers.

2. Wind turbine production on the Isle of Wight. If Vestas want to shut the factory, they must sell it. If no buyers come forward, the facility should be nationalised and placed under worker's control. Caroline Lucas has put forward a proposal for the factory to be run as a Workers' Coop to the local council under the Sustainable Communities Act. A female ex-worker has also put together a business plan based on such an idea.

3. Serious Government policies and plans regarding the promotion of industry producing renewable energy equipment, and for renewables to provide the required share of national electricity in the UK. The St. Cross site was the UK's largest renewable's facility and for the Government to allow it to close as they speak loftily of Copenhagen and 1 million new green jobs is hypocrisy of the highest order.

This is a great campaign, not only because of the clear justice of the aims, but because it is a positive campaign (rare in the Climate and Labour movements), because it is a winnable campaign, because it is a radical campaign, a campaign that has used Direct Action from the start, because it is a campaign with huge local, national and international support, and with huge significance, and huge capacity to inspire further actions.

Those of you who know about the Occupied Factory Movement in Argentina following the December 2001 economic collapse there should know that Vestas is our Zanon, our Brukman - we need to devote energy to this campaign.

Those of you who don't know about the Argentine Movement should seek out Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis' film 'The Take' or look up the slogans 'Occupy, Resist, Produce' and 'Que Se Vayan Todos' on the net...

There have been arrests recently and an eviction of a 2nd blockade camp by 120 mainland police at 6.30 am one day last week.

Support in the form of donations, visits (however short) and solidarity actions is warmly received!

see: savevestas.wordpress.com for more info, and irregular updates!

George Hill
- e-mail: stroud@bicycology.org.uk
- Homepage: http://savevestas.wordpress.com

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

Zanon, Brukman...

27.09.2009 23:23

It's a shame to be negative after the initial positivities of the Vestas dispute but both Zanon and Brukman occupations had massive public support in Argentina. It's just not the case with Vestas. If activists are appealing for people to come to the Isle of Wight from all over then you gotta question how viable a win is if local workers and inhabitants aren't even that numerous on the ground.

A


I can't remember a campaign with more public support

28.09.2009 08:07

Sorry - you'll have heard about the 1000s of people signed to petitions, the demos, and the re-occupation of the factory after one of the demos, will you? there is public support, if activists are 'needed' for anything, it is merely to help mobilise this, inform the public of the precedents of things like argentina, to keep radical ideas in the mix, and to be a part of the success... the last time i leafletted town i had a total of 3 people who were actively unsupportive, vs hundreds who were enthusiatically in support of what had happened, and was still happening.

nationally, the RMT did a survey that came back saying either 62 or 72% of people supported nationalisation of the factory. practically, this was followed by a standing ovation for the workers at the TUC conference. practically the whole labour movement is supportive.

it just seems odd that activists aren't there to be a part of it. it's not like they don't get involved when there isn't this level of public support. perhaps so much public support is off-putting to some people?

Jock Strap


I can't remember a campaign with more public support

28.09.2009 08:15

Remember my call for action to persuade politicians to act on climate change?
Remember my call for action to persuade politicians to act on climate change?

Sorry - you'll have heard about the 1000s of people signed to petitions, the demos, and the re-occupation of the factory after one of the demos, will you? there is public support, if activists are 'needed' for anything, it is merely to help mobilise this, inform the public of the precedents of things like argentina, to keep radical ideas in the mix, and to be a part of the success... the last time i leafletted town i had a total of 3 people who were actively unsupportive, vs hundreds who were enthusiatically in support of what had happened, and was still happening.

nationally, the RMT did a survey that came back saying either 62 or 72% of people supported nationalisation of the factory. practically, this was followed by a standing ovation for the workers at the TUC conference. practically the whole labour movement is supportive.

it just seems odd that activists aren't there to be a part of it. it's not like they don't get involved when there isn't this level of public support. perhaps so much public support is off-putting to some people?

come on! wipe the nervous-smaryness off ed's mug...

Jock Strap


Support

28.09.2009 10:56

@ "nationally, the RMT did a survey that came back saying either 62 or 72% of people supported nationalisation of the factory. practically, this was followed by a standing ovation for the workers at the TUC conference. practically the whole labour movement is supportive"

I agree that there is huge public support on paper and in union branches and in people's heads across the UK. It's a campaign that seems to make sense in these times. But are all of these people at the Vestas site? And where are all the ex-Vestas workers? Where are the national union mobilisations in support of Vestas. A standing ovation is one thing, but people out on the streets is another. There haven't been any mass pickets and sizeable presence at the Vestas plant since the occupation ended. Sizeable enough to either permanently reoccupy or to prevent the removal of the blades.

This is not to deny the amazing campaign and bravery of all the occupiers and those taking direct action in solidarity with the fight. But where does the campaign go from here without mass support happening on the Isle and at the plant?

I also think keeping radical ideas in circulation is great too (as you say) but asking the government to nationalise the plant is a dead end. They simply will not do this. Why would they politically and why would they strategically when Vestas has made a decision on where and when it wants to chop and change it's international production?

In Argentina, the workers occupied and stayed put, begin production again and then after a massive publically supported campaigns were recognised as worker-run businesses by the State.

For Vestas, the notion to pressure the Govt to nationalise on the basis of Green jobs was a something of a false hope for the workers struggle as it existed on the ground for those being made redundant. I can't help thinking that it was some of the activists that are sought that brought this to the occupation.

A


would be great to get some activists workers back in there to make blades

28.09.2009 18:05

I know alot of activists who took time off work to go over already work in wind cooperatives, or do contract work in the wind & energy business.Maybe its too late?, even if theres a bit of equipment there, why not???

james


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