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Database on climate change and trade unions
A first outcome of the workshop on 'Climate change and Trade Unions' that was held on 15 October 2008 in Brussels, was the decision to set up a database, as part of the TURI website, containing relevant documents on this issue. The aim is to put together everything that has been published so far and especially the studies and projects the partner institutes have been working on in order to share knowledge, ideas and methodology. As it has been pointed out that language is often a problem, we will try to provide a short summary in English for the documents in other languages. Through the collaboration of the participants in the workshop a mapping exercise will be carried out in terms of available research but also in terms of trade union practices and policies at the work place and the results will be published on the specific section of the TURI website. To access this section, please click here.
Background information:
Establishing a research agenda on climate change and trade unions
In the framework of TURI, the ETUI initiated a reflection group for researchers connected to the trade union movement to discuss a research agenda clarifying the interrelation between climate change and trade unions. The first meeting of this group took place on 15 October 2008 in Brussels.
Climate change is already a fact. It represents one of the utmost environmental, social and economic challenges facing the planet. The European Union (EU) is showing a commitment to working for a global agreement to control climate change, and is leading the way by taking action of its own and thus setting the agenda on this issue.
The relationship between climate change and trade union action is not widely acknowledged today, not even in the EU. What is more, according to the a study on climate change and employment carried out by a consortium led by the ETUC and SDA (2007), the idea that climate change is also a social issue next to a scientific, political and economic matter, involving not only citizens but also all workers, is not yet significantly shared. The same study shows however that global warming and the transition to a carbon-lean economy (as undertaken by the EU) represents a major challenge for sectors and regions employing large numbers of workers as far-reaching changes in employment, qualifications and working conditions will need to be made. The anticipated job gains and losses resulting from climate change will be substantial and no sector will be spared no matter whether directly affected by global warming or having to deal with the consequences (negative or positive) of the measures taken to combat global warming. As Christophe Degryse and Philippe Pochet conclude in ‘Social developments in the EU 2007’ anticipating and managing change is not likely to happen without political and social tension, nor without transfers of production. That is why an ambitious EU climate change policy needs to be successfully incorporated into economic, budgetary, fiscal, social, transport, agricultural, development cooperation and other policies, all of which must henceforth be judged according to their sustainability. But above all it needs to be rooted in a broad social consensus if it is to succeed. As acknowledged societal actors, trade unions have also responsibilities when it comes to tackling climate change, an issue that needs to be addressed outside specialist and environmental discussions and become part of social dialogue and collective bargaining (ETUC, 2006). Nonetheless, the study of ETUC and SDA reveals different levels of involvement by the trade union organisations vis-à-vis the problems raised by climate change. ‘Generally speaking, the level of interest shown by the economic and social players in the sectors examined by the study is in contrast to the scale of the issues involved in climate change for those same actors.’ (ETUC & SDA, 2007).
In this context and in the framework of TURI (the network of trade union-related research institutes), the ETUI initiated a reflection group for researchers connected to the trade union movement to discuss a research agenda clarifying the interrelation between climate change and trade unions. The European wide TURI network appears to be a highly relevant framework for such an issue as what is needed is an EU or global approach to the issue of climate change and trade unions rather than national cooperation versus competition.
The principal aim of the workshop was to brainstorm on the topics that trade union related research institutes should concentrate on in order to support trade unions in their positioning in the climate change debate. More concretely the workshop served the following purposes:
• To get to know each other
• To clarify expectations and commitments and create a joint understanding to the goals and aims of what we can do together
• To create an overview of “the state of the art” on “climate change and trade unions” in different countries
• To start the process of establishing a research agenda on “climate change and trade unions”
• To decide on coming activities and tasks