WORKERS at the stricken Vestas Blades factory have been urged by unions to step up the fight to save their jobs.
At a meeting at the Riverside Centre, Newport, last Friday, members of Unite and Unison urged staff to join a trade union as part of a last-ditch effort to secure a better deal for the hundreds of workers who are due to lose their jobs when the wind turbine factory closes.
There were also calls from pressure group Workers’ Climate Action for staff to occupy the factory to try to prevent closure altogether.
However, speaking after the meeting, workers told the CP they were resigned to the factory shutting its doors for the last time at the end of this month.
There were also fears they could lose redundancy payments if they took more direct industrial action.
Speaking after the meeting, one worker, who did not wish to be named, told the CP the meeting had been a "waste of two hours".
He said: "There is not a lot we can do. We are going to stick out the last two weeks and get what little they are offering us."
Another worker said it was too late in the day for workers to join a union.
He said: "It is fear that is stopping people. They don’t want to lose their redundancy package."
Earlier at the meeting, which had been organised by the Isle of Wight Association of Trades Councils, around 100 workers were told by Unison’s Mark Chiverton the closure was a disaster for the Isle of Wight economy.
John Rowse, from Unite, added: "The union can only make a difference if you want a union."
More than 600 posts are due to be shed at Vestas when the factory closes. Production of blades will move to the United States and China.
Vestas declined to comment.
Reporter: davidn@iwcpmail.co.uk