New unionised wind turbine factory

One year on from the workers’ occupation of the Vestas wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight, a new organisation set up by former employees has been opened just yards from the old factory site and is due to start production some time in the autumn.

Sean McDonagh, an RMT member and one of the sacked Vestas workers, was a driving force behind the new organisation, Sureblades. The company will use cutting edge technology to make micro-turbine blades that will be 100% recyclable, unlike conventional blades which have to be burnt or dumped in landfill.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the former Vestas workers behind the new project have completely destroyed the argument put forward by the company that there was no market for UK manufactured turbine blades.