Thursday 23 July 2009

Resistance statement of solidarity with Vestas workers


Resistance, an Australia-wide socialist youth organisation, sends greetings and solidarity to the workers occupying the Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight and join 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. As companies and governments around the world state that action on climate change can only come at the expense of the economy, this decision highlights that what is meant by the economy is 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 and 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 greedy exploitation and profiteering of the free market. What is clearly needed is massive government investment in renewable energy, supporting green jobs and beginning the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Resistance support the demands of the workers and calls for immediate trade union recognition, nationalisation of the factory under the control of the workers, and making the plant 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.

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