Hampshire police, lots of them, help Vestas to get their blades out
Below a few mobile phone snaps of the events today as the Hampshire Constabulary in large numbers helped Vestas to move wind turbine blades from the blockaded factory at Newport, Isle of Wight. They had broken up the protest camp at the Marine Gate in the morning, and controlled the cyclepath from Newport to East Cowes to help Vestas load a number of blades onto a Blade Runner barge.
What you can see in the first picture is just one part of the police presence. More like these were beyond the fence that you can see, stopping people coming from East Cowes to Newport. Many more were on the jetty and on the river. Many more were stationed at the roundabout. Many more were patrolling the area.
What you can see in the first picture is just one part of the police presence. More like these were beyond the fence that you can see, stopping people coming from East Cowes to Newport. Many more were on the jetty and on the river. Many more were stationed at the roundabout. Many more were patrolling the area.
Some of the police on the cyclepath as Vestas blades were removed from the Newport factory, Isle of Wight
Save Green Jobs; protest as Vestas remove blades, 22nd September 2009
Vestas blade borne along the jetty; Newport, IoW, 22 Sept
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: blade blockade, green jobs, hampshire constabulary, Isle of Wight, vestas, wind turbines
Posted by: vickim57 | September 22, 2009
Massive police operation allows Vestas to remove blades – though not all
Blade crosses the cyclepath at Vestas, Newport, Isle of Wight; 22nd September 2009
All this in addition to the company’s security guards who, I’ve been told, were on £45 an hour throughout this campaign.
In truth, short of flinging ourselves into the river, clambering up the jetty, wrestling several police to the ground, we could not have stopped the blades getting out today. But they did not get them all. Only one barge came at high tide at noon; we think there are more blades and some equipment to go. The cyclepath was closed while the blades were moved and was re-opened afterwards, but the police remain and the riverside footpath has been shut down completely for two days. So we think Vestas will be back for the rest.
It seems likely that the barge will come tonight at high tide or tomorrow again around noon at high tide.
We did not watch the sorry spectacle without protest. All the workers and supporters who have not been warned off going on the footpath (they were the ones who were turfed out of their tents at 6am this morning) ran down and protested on the path. We’ll meet this afternoon to discuss what next.
A planning meeting of the council tonight that will deal with the Vestas plant should have some workers in attendance.
Vicki
Some press coverage of today’s sorry events:
BBC news online here
VentnorBlog here
Posted by: savevestas | September 22, 2009
Police move away workers and supporters to make way for Vestas blades
Ed Maltby reports from the Isle of Wight: Arriving from London at 4am on 22 September, I went to bed in one of the tents at the marine gate of the Newport factory. There were about a dozen people there, including some workers.
Two hours later, at 6am, we were woken up – and the few who were awake, on watch, were surprised – by the sound of 120 booted police officers’ feet. The police quickly had control of the area.
They told us that the Isle of Wight Council had removed the public right of way on the cycle path which runs between the factory’s marine gate and the jetty, and so we were “trespassing” on council land with a view to stopping Vestas from carrying out their lawful business. If we continued to do so, we would be committing the criminal offence of “aggravated trespass”.
Citing the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, they told us to leave the area immediately. We didn’t have much choice about that. The police have allowed us to collect most of our stuff from the marine gate area, though some of our stuff has been taken away as “evidence”.
The police have also given a map to all of us, showing an area which, they say, we are now not allowed into for three months.
We have came to the roundabout at the factory’s front gate. Together with the people who were already at the roundabout and other workers and local people who have arrived since 6am, we have about 20 or 25 of us at the roundabout.
Police have blocked the path along the riverbank to seal off the area around the jetty, and we are told that it will be blocked for two days.
The cycle path which runs immediately past the marine gate is open and being used, but there are lots of police on it, and people are being told that they can use it to travel in one direction only.
There are more police, and Vestas security people, on the jetty. There are also police vans at the roundabout, and police camera-people taking photos of us.
We understand that the barges which carry blades for Vestas have left Southampton, where they are usually docked, and we assume they are on their way to collect the blades. We’re discussing what we may be able to do now to stage some final protest against the blades being moved.
Click here for the aggravated trespass law.
Some press coverage of the camp clearance:
Isle of Wight Country Press here [the picture with this report conveys the idea that the roundabout camp has been cleared; that is not true - it is the camp at the marine gate that has been cleared - the roundabout camp is still up and functioning - come for supper!]
VentnorBlog here
Two hours later, at 6am, we were woken up – and the few who were awake, on watch, were surprised – by the sound of 120 booted police officers’ feet. The police quickly had control of the area.
They told us that the Isle of Wight Council had removed the public right of way on the cycle path which runs between the factory’s marine gate and the jetty, and so we were “trespassing” on council land with a view to stopping Vestas from carrying out their lawful business. If we continued to do so, we would be committing the criminal offence of “aggravated trespass”.
Citing the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, they told us to leave the area immediately. We didn’t have much choice about that. The police have allowed us to collect most of our stuff from the marine gate area, though some of our stuff has been taken away as “evidence”.
The police have also given a map to all of us, showing an area which, they say, we are now not allowed into for three months.
We have came to the roundabout at the factory’s front gate. Together with the people who were already at the roundabout and other workers and local people who have arrived since 6am, we have about 20 or 25 of us at the roundabout.
Police have blocked the path along the riverbank to seal off the area around the jetty, and we are told that it will be blocked for two days.
The cycle path which runs immediately past the marine gate is open and being used, but there are lots of police on it, and people are being told that they can use it to travel in one direction only.
There are more police, and Vestas security people, on the jetty. There are also police vans at the roundabout, and police camera-people taking photos of us.
We understand that the barges which carry blades for Vestas have left Southampton, where they are usually docked, and we assume they are on their way to collect the blades. We’re discussing what we may be able to do now to stage some final protest against the blades being moved.
Click here for the aggravated trespass law.
Some press coverage of the camp clearance:
Isle of Wight Country Press here [the picture with this report conveys the idea that the roundabout camp has been cleared; that is not true - it is the camp at the marine gate that has been cleared - the roundabout camp is still up and functioning - come for supper!]
VentnorBlog here
Newport-East Cowes cyclepath before it was closed to move Vestas blades. People were told they could only walk one way along it. To walk back again would be aggravated trespass.
Posted by: savevestas | September 22, 2009
Police invade marine gate camp
Today, 22 September, is the day when Vestas bosses will try to move blades from the Newport factory.
Police forcibly cleared workers and supporters overnight from the camp at the marine gate. The barges to carry the blades are expected at noon.
Join us on the cycle path outside the marine gate to protest!
Police forcibly cleared workers and supporters overnight from the camp at the marine gate. The barges to carry the blades are expected at noon.
Join us on the cycle path outside the marine gate to protest!
Posted by: vickim57 | September 21, 2009
My name is Chris Ash; I was one of the Vestas occupiers… [now read on]
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
My name is Chris Ash I was one of the Vestas occupiers.
We have just been tipped off that tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12 noon the blade runner is coming down the river Medina to the Vestas factory in Newport from Southampton to pick up some of the remaining blades still inside the factory.
We are expecting a big police presence along with big support from other supporters and activists. We will do anything and everything to stop Vestas from shipping these blades or from getting anything into the factory if that’s their plan.
It would be great if you could either contact me or come down to the marine gate to see for yourselves.
Chris Ash
07768 816899
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
My name is Chris Ash I was one of the Vestas occupiers.
We have just been tipped off that tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12 noon the blade runner is coming down the river Medina to the Vestas factory in Newport from Southampton to pick up some of the remaining blades still inside the factory.
We are expecting a big police presence along with big support from other supporters and activists. We will do anything and everything to stop Vestas from shipping these blades or from getting anything into the factory if that’s their plan.
It would be great if you could either contact me or come down to the marine gate to see for yourselves.
Chris Ash
07768 816899
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Vestas occupiers Mark Smith (left) and Chris Ash (right); East Cowes, 12 August 2009
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: blade blockade, Chris Ash, green jobs, Isle of Wight, vestas, wind turbines
Posted by: vickim57 | September 21, 2009
Action is what is needed now: help us stop the blades moving – come to the Vestas picket today or tomorrow
We have been maintaining a 24 hour picket-camp at the marine gate of the Newport Vestas factory since the eviction of the workers’ occupation in August. This is to block Vestas management shutting down the factory while 11 of the occupiers remain sacked and hundreds of islanders out of work. It looks like they will try to break the picket tonight or tomorrow (21st/22nd September).
We have said to Vestas management, the Isle of Wight Council, the local police, the government – to our own labour and environmental movements – that we are fighting for the factory to stay open; we need socially useful jobs now, we want renewables now, and Vestas and the government cannot be allowed to treat workers and a community with such contempt.
At the Trade Union Congress last week, in a question to Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, one trade unionist said, you’ve pronounced the Congress slogans, “Jobs, Justice, Climate”, incorrectly: you should have said “Vestas”.
Too right. The fight over Vestas on the Isle of Wight has been a beacon (and a wake-up call) to very many people on the Isle of Wight and around the world, summing up what we’re working for – and the powers that stand in our way.
You couldn’t hope to know all the countless ways that people everywhere have acted in solidarity with this campaign. As one signboard cartoon by the oak tree reads: out of tiny acorns grow mighty revolutions.
It might have been the same speaker at the TUC that quoted Ed’s much more principled dad Ralph Miliband: “Rhetoric is easy, the truth is concrete.”
Last week, and again today, our bits of concrete to block the path of the crane were removed by the police, Vestas security and scab labour. This has been an inspiring kind of picket line: in the next 12 hours it will be a good group of people that will stand in the way of these blades on the picket – with one Vestas worker on the tripod; workers and their friends and family, socialists, climate activists, trade unionists, local working-class people. This has been, and is, everyone’s fight.
We have been clear, in our words and our actions, that this is our factory and our blades. There is no financial or rhetorical subsititute now for direct action on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere around the country. This is a live fight, with its frontline in Newport. It has been many a year since our movement has put up a real picket of a corporation. At midday tomorrow, the Blade Runner barge which was boarded in Southampton a week ago will move to clear the factory of the remaining blades. Our banner then said “Our Blades, Our Power”. It is still true.
We hope people will join the picket line tomorrow and in the coming days. The Council, the police, Vestas think that support has waned, they are trying to say that it is protestors that are putting jobs at risk, that the Isle of Wight might get a bad reputation for not rolling over obediently for employers – basically, a reputation for standing up and doing what is right.
What has been most inspiring about this campaign, exemplified by the occupation of management’s offices by a group of dedicated workers – is that it is through our direct action that we will take back control of the world we live in, in order to save it.
We have said to Vestas management, the Isle of Wight Council, the local police, the government – to our own labour and environmental movements – that we are fighting for the factory to stay open; we need socially useful jobs now, we want renewables now, and Vestas and the government cannot be allowed to treat workers and a community with such contempt.
At the Trade Union Congress last week, in a question to Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, one trade unionist said, you’ve pronounced the Congress slogans, “Jobs, Justice, Climate”, incorrectly: you should have said “Vestas”.
Too right. The fight over Vestas on the Isle of Wight has been a beacon (and a wake-up call) to very many people on the Isle of Wight and around the world, summing up what we’re working for – and the powers that stand in our way.
You couldn’t hope to know all the countless ways that people everywhere have acted in solidarity with this campaign. As one signboard cartoon by the oak tree reads: out of tiny acorns grow mighty revolutions.
It might have been the same speaker at the TUC that quoted Ed’s much more principled dad Ralph Miliband: “Rhetoric is easy, the truth is concrete.”
Last week, and again today, our bits of concrete to block the path of the crane were removed by the police, Vestas security and scab labour. This has been an inspiring kind of picket line: in the next 12 hours it will be a good group of people that will stand in the way of these blades on the picket – with one Vestas worker on the tripod; workers and their friends and family, socialists, climate activists, trade unionists, local working-class people. This has been, and is, everyone’s fight.
We have been clear, in our words and our actions, that this is our factory and our blades. There is no financial or rhetorical subsititute now for direct action on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere around the country. This is a live fight, with its frontline in Newport. It has been many a year since our movement has put up a real picket of a corporation. At midday tomorrow, the Blade Runner barge which was boarded in Southampton a week ago will move to clear the factory of the remaining blades. Our banner then said “Our Blades, Our Power”. It is still true.
We hope people will join the picket line tomorrow and in the coming days. The Council, the police, Vestas think that support has waned, they are trying to say that it is protestors that are putting jobs at risk, that the Isle of Wight might get a bad reputation for not rolling over obediently for employers – basically, a reputation for standing up and doing what is right.
What has been most inspiring about this campaign, exemplified by the occupation of management’s offices by a group of dedicated workers – is that it is through our direct action that we will take back control of the world we live in, in order to save it.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: blade blockade, green jobs, Isle of Wight, save vestas, vestas, wind turbines
Posted by: vickim57 | September 21, 2009
URGENT: Attempt to move blades likely in next days at Vestas, Newport, Isle of Wight
Help stop the blades - come to the Vestas plant, Newport, Isle of Wight
Please mobilise to stop Vestas moving the blades out: they are the best leverage that the workers who occupied the factory in the summer have for getting their redundancy pay or getting the factory re-opened – with or without Vestas – making wind turbine blades.
If you can go to the plant but need more information, ring Anna on 07804 497 014 .
We deterred them once before - we need to do it again!
Posted by: vickim57 | September 21, 2009
Support Vestas campaigners in court, Southampton, Tuesday 29th September
The four protesters arrested on Tuesday 15 September for occupying cranes at Southampton docks, that were loading Vestas blades onto the BBC Ohio for shipping, will be in court on Tuesday 29th September. They are asking supporters to come and demonstrate outside Southampton magistrates’ court from 9.30am.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: BBC Ohio, blade blockade, crane occupation, green jobs, vestas, wind turbines
Posted by: vickim57 | September 21, 2009
Vestas workers to join protest at Labour Party conference
On Sunday 27th September there is a protest outside the start of the Labour Party conference. Coaches are booked from all around the country for what organisers are calling “Rage Against Labour”*.
Vestas workers and supporters will be among those joining the demonstration. For details of transport from the Isle of Wight telephone 07854 982 366 .
P.S. We could have done with a few more resources going into “Rage Against Vestas” and transport booked down to the Isle of Wight but, hey, don’t want to rain on people’s protest march.
Vestas workers and supporters will be among those joining the demonstration. For details of transport from the Isle of Wight telephone 07854 982 366 .
P.S. We could have done with a few more resources going into “Rage Against Vestas” and transport booked down to the Isle of Wight but, hey, don’t want to rain on people’s protest march.
