Police on the Isle of Wight will be asked to ensure food reaches men occupying the Vestas wind turbine factory tomorrow, after lawyers advised that the company could be breaking the law by preventing supplies from getting through.
Around 10 workers have staged a sit-in at the Danish-owned plant in Newport for almost two weeks. They complain the management are attempting to starve them out of the facility, and claim they have been given only sporadic meals – sometimes just a small sandwich and slice of pizza per day. Attempts by their supporters to throw them additional food parcels have been impeded by security staff and one worker emerged on Thursday to be told by ambulance staff that his blood sugar levels were dangerously low.
Union officials will meet with police tomorrow to lodge an official complaint after Louise Christian, the human rights lawyer, advised that in preventing food from getting through, Vestas and its security firm were committing a criminal offence under the Protection from Harrassment Act (1997). Christian added police have an obligation under the Human Rights Act to ensure Vestas was not preventing access to sufficient food.
"This advice confirms our concerns about the rights of the Vestas workers to decent food and we will be making immediate representations to the police in Newport to stop the private company from blockading these essential supplies," said Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union. "We will not allow the company and their private guards to starve the workers out. With the closure now pushed back it is even more important that the workers inside get nutritional meals on a regular basis." The Newport factory, the only major manufacturer of wind turbine blades in the UK, was due to close today with the loss of around 625 jobs. Vestas said "complications" arising from the industrial dispute had led it to extend its consultation period until at least 10 August. Peter Kruse, a vice-president at the company, said the men were being catered for. "We do not starve people," he said.
Vestas failed its legal attempt to secure a possession order from the local country court this week, a move that would have enabled bailiffs to be called. A judge at Newport County Court told lawyers for the company that papers had not been properly served on the men and adjourned the hearing until Tuesday.
Kruse said there was nothing the UK government could do to save the factory, which is being abandoned because there is "not enough in the pipeline" in terms of projected growth in the UK onshore market. "They can't create a big enough market overnight with the click of a finger," he said.
Food deliveries from the RMT were allowed into the Vestas plant in Newport, England yesterday, but were cut off by Vestas management this afternoon.

Protesters at the Isle of Wight factory celebrated the delivery of supermarket bags filed with groceries, which entered with a police escort. This morning, the sixteen remaining occupiers were told to prepare a list of items for future deliveries. But, according to "Mark", an occupier in the Vestas plant, this afternoon Vestas management reversed their decision, terming the August 1 food delivery a one-time "goodwill gesture" and saying food would no longer be allowed in. The food delivery followed a formal complaint by the RMT that denying the occupiers food was a violation of their human rights. The people inside the factory have been conducting their occupation since July 20, in protest against the closure of the factory, which produces wind turbine blades for the generation of wind power, and the loss of 625 jobs in the Isle of Wight and nearby areas.

Mark went on to praise the "brave people" who have circumvented the security ring around the plant in order to get food and other items to the occupiers. An electric kettle thrown at the end of a rope up to the occupiers is said to be working well. Mark also noted that Louise Christian, a prominent British human rights lawyer, is now representing the Vestas occupiers. 

While the number of occupiers at the Vestas plant — originally nearly thirty, now only sixteen — have dwindled, Mark says the ones who remain are "very determined" and furthermore hold no ill will toward their co-workers who have left the occupation. In particular, the occupiers offered sympathy for Luke Paxton, who they say left the occupation due to a combination of personal issues and malnutrition brought on by the deprivation of food. Paxton, Mark said, has the remaining occupiers' "full support" and continues to campaign for the Vestas workers.

Mark also clarified the origins of the occupation. In contrast to claims that green socialist group Workers' Climate Action were behind the occupation, Mark presented a more nuanced picture: the Vestas workers' initial contacts were with veterans of the occupation of Visteon's auto parts plants, with the AWL, SWP and Socialist Party becoming involved later with "quite a big involvement" from all groups. Members of Workers' Climate Action attended Vestas workers' meetings and gave their opinions, but, Mark says, a committee organised by the workers and composed of workers was making all the decisions.

Mark also strongly rejected the support of Solidarity, a "nationalist trade union" closely associated with the BNP. In a July 24 statement, Solidarity backed the Vestas workers, with union executive member David Kerr saying "We are behind the Vestas workers 100 per cent. British jobs must be protected." Mark, in reply, told ''Wikinews'': "We do not want their support...they go against a lot of the things people believe in here. We have Polish workers with us. They're our friends."

Most of the Vestas occupiers remain independent of trade unions, with only three of the sixteen people inside being members of any union.

Mark closed with a message of solidarity with the occupiers of two Thomas Cook branches in Dublin, Ireland, whose employees began a sit-in at their offices on Friday after the announcement of surprise closures. "We fully support what you're doing. Don't back down...do not be pushed around, do not be intimidated".

The Vestas occupiers have also exchanged messages of solidarity with SsangYong Motor Company in South Korea. Workers at SsangYong have been occupying their factory since May 22 in protest against a 36% cut in employees there.

The occupation continues accompanied by a warning of increased union unrest in Britain. Neil O'Brien of centre-right think tank Policy Exchange told ''The Daily Telegraph'' that, while labour unrest had increased, the current state of affairs is "nothing compared to what is going to happen once the brakes are slammed on public spending."