On July 20, workers at the Vestas wind turbine plant on England's Isle of Wight occupied the factory to protest its closure and the loss of 625 green jobs.
The Danish company Vestas Wind Systems announced the plant would close at the end of July. Vestas is the main producer of wind turbines in northern Europe and has continued to post profits this quarter.
Vestas has used numerous tactics to try to end the occupation. Workers have been threatened with arrest, prosecution and the loss of their redundancy payments.
On July 22, the entrance to the site was fenced off and police arrested three protesters who were trying to deliver food to the workers, BBC News said.
Workers called on the government to act in the interest of green jobs: "What we would like to see is the government actually taking it over and possibly nationalising it," a worker told BBC News.
"This is a green industry and the government keep harping on about how much they want to get all these hundreds of thousands of green jobs going.
"But then they go and close the only wind turbine plant in England."
A rally to support the workers was called for July 22. Statements of support have been sent to the Vestas workers from socialist groups, politicians, trade unions and individuals. Send messages of support from yourself or your organisation to
The statement below is from Resistance.
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Resistance sends greetings and solidarity to the workers occupying the Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight and joins the calls of protest against Vestas' decision to close down the wind turbine factory.
This decision is clearly a case of corporate greed being placed ahead of the needs of workers, the community, and the environment on which we all depend.
Companies and governments around the world keep saying that action on climate change will come at the expense of the economy. This decision shows that when they talk about "the economy" they mean profits for the corporate elite.
This green industry has provided hundreds of jobs for the people of the Isle of Wight and supported thousands more indirectly. We need to open more factories like it — not close them down — to make a safe climate future possible.
Resistance supports calls for Gordon Brown's Labour government to step in and nationalise the Vestas factory. The twin crises the world now faces — the economic crisis and the ecological crisis — both have their roots in the greed, exploitation and profiteering of the free market.
Clearly, we need massive government investment in renewable energy and the creation of green jobs to begin the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Resistance supports the demands of the workers and calls for immediate trade union recognition and the nationalisation of the factory under the control of the workers. The Vestas plant is a building block for a green energy revolution.
We add our support to the trade unions, fellow workers and general public who have rallied to save the workers and save the planet.