Last week we wrote about the Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight, the UK’s only wind turbine factory. As you will now know, it is due to close, with operations moving to the US.
The factory workers have occupied the factory in protest, and have been barricaded into the offices for two weeks. Other protests have taken place around the country. In the latest twist to the tale, seven students glued themselves together across the entrance to the Department for Energy and Climate Change this morning, forcing staff to use the back door. A paramedic has apparently separated them, and the police have subsequently carted them away.
More protests are planned for this week however, as the cause gathers a growing coalition of environmental and trade union activists. The logic of preserving the UK’s wind industry seems obvious to me. If we shore up the car industry, give tax breaks to aviation, and bail out high finance, all of which are destroying life on this planet, why can’t we step in to help an industry that could be undoing some of the damage?
- To keep up to date on proceedings at Vestas, and to join an action near you, visit the savevestas blog.
- There is also a petition to Number 10, which you can sign here.
The Earthbound Report 