Vestas shows the need for international labour links

If you’ve set yourself a Google news alert for Vestas stories in the last few weeks, you’ll be able to read stories about Vestas setting up in Colorado, as well as stories about Vestas trying to shut down in the Isle of Wight.

I had the same experience following news of Visteon. I still receive alerts about Visteon – the UK workers are still fighting for their pensions - all power to them! The most poignant stories for me are of towns in the US (although it could be anywhere) bending over backwards to attract Visteon, that famed shafter of workers in the UK, to set up there.

The lesson I draw from all of this is not that we should compete against each other for the favour of the multinationals, by promising to do things cheaper (the race to the bottom), but that labour movements around the world urgently need to cooperate with each other in order to drive up the cost of labour around the world.

Regarding Vestas, we have looked into whether the company has a European Works Council – they are in a long-drawn-out process of setting one up (HOW long does it take?) apparently. Can we pursue this angle?

And here is a very interesting article written by a Colorado journalist about the ugly spectacle of workers in one country striving to outbid the workers in another country. How long can this go on? United internationally we stand, divided we fall.

Vicki