Greener Jobs Alliance

Record temperatures in spring – ‘glorious weather’ or a wake-up call?

Image by dae jeung kim from Pixabay

By Graham Petersen

The last week of May has broken temperature records in the UK. UK records hottest spring day as heatwave hits 35C

This has been overwhelmingly treated as a good news story where we can bask in weather that is ‘better’ than many exotic holiday destinations. It also came a few days after a Climate Change Committee Report ‘A Well-Adapted UK’ that highlighted the threats from heat, flooding and drought. British way of life under threat from heat, flooding and drought  – Climate Change Committee

The report is a damning indictment of the failure of successive governments to respond to these threats. In over 500 pages it identifies 14 critical systems that need urgent adaptation for survival from the severe impacts expected over the coming decades. These range from Health through to National Security. In many ways it echoes the National Emergency Briefing campaign that is a call for action based on the science. National Emergency Briefing

The recent election of Reform Party mayors and councils only serves to underline the challenge in responding to these threats. Of course it is not just Reform. Much of the mainstream media and other political parties are largely complicit in trivialising the debate and are terrified of solutions that could threaten vested interests. Nothing has shown this more than the proposal in the report that grabbed most of the headlines – a legal requirement for a maximum working temperature.

Extreme heat – Trade unions like UNISON  issued press releases welcoming this. Regulating workplace temperatures and adapting for climate change is long overdue – UNISON National Tory politicians have predictably been on TV saying, ‘it will hurt business’ and it’s not the right way to go.’ Their call for a voluntary approach flies in the face of the evidence that leaving it up to employers to decide whether they want to introduce risk control measures just doesn’t work. Employers have had plenty of opportunity to provide decent standards of protection but have failed in most cases.

Strengths of the CCC Report – One of the 14 critical systems addressed in the report is Chapter 5 Built environment and communities. This is the section of the report covers climate risks in the workplace. Given the importance of the world of work it can be argued that it should have its own section, but even limited references improve on most climate studies which often fail to reference the subject at all. The GJA has spent years commenting on government, local authority and academic reports that fail to mention workers, never mind engagement with trade unions. Chapter 16 Economy and finance is the other part of the report that has general implications for workers. This is the part that contains the recommendation that has made all the headlines – ‘Regulations can protect workers or enable coordination under changing climate conditions. Appropriate regulations may include maximum working temperatures or clear climate resilience standards. Alongside regulating, governments can support businesses by addressing market failures and providing incentives for adaptation.’ The call for a legal maximum is to be welcomed. It is now up to unions and campaigners to lobby over the details of what any future regulations should contain.

Weaknesses of the CCC Report – The CCC report predictably doesn’t contain a single reference to trade unions, and the need to engage with workers. It lacks detail on the range of workers at risk and the risks they are exposed to. For example, the report states ‘The risk of extreme heat in homes and offices is projected to be four times higher in the 2050s, than present day.’ The focus is indoors and fails to address the risk to outdoor workers. It also fails to mention air pollution anywhere in the whole report. This is unfortunate given the clear link between extreme heat and poor air quality.

In terms of standards unions could do a lot worse than those contained in the new International Labour Organisation (ILO) Report – Occupational safety and health in extreme weather events and changing weather patterns.  Adopted on 24 April following five days of negotiations with union and employer representatives, the conclusions mark the first global agreement focused on occupational safety and health (OSH) in extreme weather and changing weather patterns. Extreme weather at work: ILO tripartite experts set global OSH measures to protect workers and businesses | Human Resources Online

In the TUC Year of Climate Action unions will need to respond to the recommendations in the CCC Report. A key part of this will be getting behind the campaign for legal changes to make climate risk assessments a requirement for employers.

The GJA will be publishing a blog later this month with a detailed assessment of the CCC Report, and the opportunities for trade unions.

Further comments on the CCC Report

“This report (from the Climate Change Committee) makes clear the major risks that heatwaves, flooding and other extreme weather events pose to schools. There are already problems with overheating in the summer, made worse by the poor ventilation of many ageing school buildings and the growing frequency of extreme temperatures. There is a human cost to working in uncomfortable conditions and ultimately this results in lost learning.

“The school and college estate has been neglected over a long period of time and is not equipped to deal with the challenges posed by climate change. We are still waiting to see the DfE’s refreshed climate and sustainability strategy, and it’s vital that this includes investment to ensure schools and colleges are protected from these growing threats.” 

“It’s a stark reminder relying on non-domestic energy sources is sheer folly and leaves the UK brutally exposed to the whims of the market.” GMB  As domestic supply of fossil fuels cannot be significantly increased, and no proposals for increases would make any difference to prices, the logic of this is an increased pace of investment in solar and wind. Ed

Photo: flickr.com/photos/sasastro/

“Yet another rise in energy bills will be a kick in the teeth for the millions of people already struggling with the cost of living.

“The UK remains locked into heating and powering our homes with expensive, volatile gas, so every global energy shock sends our bills higher. Today’s forecast feels like a bad case of déjà vu that we can’t afford to repeat again, especially for those who haven’t recovered financially since the last time energy prices surged.

“If we’re to break free from our dependence on fossil fuels, then we must rapidly roll out clean, homegrown renewable energy – which is now cheaper than oil and gas – alongside insulating homes. This is how we can permanently lower bills and shield people from another energy price crisis.”

Join Us

Get in the loop! Sign up to receive future GJA Newsletters and Blogs here.

SIGN UP Join the debate

Send us your contribution to the debate. We will contact you about using it here on our News & Debate page.

Name

Email

Contribution

Submit

The post Record temperatures in spring – ‘glorious weather’ or a wake-up call? first appeared on Greener Jobs Alliance.

UNISON shows the way!

Image by John Blower on flickr.com/photos/10332960@N03/

At UNISON conference in June, Motion 83, 2026 Year of Green Activity (YoGA) – Turning Activity into Activism, the UNISON NEC puts a number of key points on the way forward for climate activism through and by trade unions.

Unlike most unions, UNISON motions are unshackled by word limits, which allows breadth and depth – veritable manifestos – to supplement the shorter, sharper motions that come from elsewhere and go to the TUC.

The core insights in this one are to recognise:

• the scale of concern among members; 93% worried, 50% very worried and 20% detailing impacts already being felt, and 67% wanting more not less action
• that immediate climate impacts in workplaces on the health of members and the ability to deliver services and the pitfalls involved in ad hoc and improvised responses and that many UNISON members’ jobs are bound up with current policies to respond to the increasing pressure of climate breakdown, with limited resources
• that the slower the response the greater the cost
• that the transition is a whole society issue, not one confined to workers in the energy sector and that UNISON’s embeddedness in communities gives it a crucial role in mobilsing for it
• that adaptation to the damage already being done has to run alongside building resilience to climate breakdown, and this requires more coordination across government departments and, in that planning, workers, and communities, must be central to the decision-making process.

This tees up the core demands to campaign for.

1. A UK wide Just Transition Commission with full union representation
2. Adaptation measures to be on a footing with mitigation
3. A National Climate Service to coordinate government departments
4. A full review of all necessary climate jobs and skills, not just in the energy sector

As well as mandatory extreme weather planning across public services and local communities; statutory facility time for Green Reps; maximum workplace temperatures; greater investment in public transport; the urgent introduction of the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to tackle global supply chain abuses; increased financial support and environmental regulations for people to make the necessary changes recommended by the climate change committee and a full environmental impact assessment on the introduction of new AI data centres across the UK.

And to facilitate this through union structures by

• supporting the new Branch Environment Officer role as a growth area of union activism;
• actively promote the work of the Green UNISON campaign, the new branch Environment Officer position, regional networks and national newsletter.
• Work with other unions, TUC, ITUC on joint work in workplaces, national and international campaigning.

If this sort of framework were to be adopted across the movement, every year would be a year of union climate action; which is what the crisis demands as it deepens.

Paul Atkin Ed

 

Read on for the full motion

UNISON is proudly at the forefront of UK worker-led climate activism.

We were one of the first trade unions to recognise climate change as an important issue that affects every member, their families, and the communities they live in.

We recognise that Climate change impacts many core trade union, and UNISON specific, issues like: public finances and resources; job security; workplace safety and all the services our members deliver.

And we know that it is an increasingly important issue for our members. Our recent survey showed that 93 percent of our members were concerned about climate change with 50 percent saying they were very concerned and one in five reported ways in which their job was already being negatively impacted by climate change.

Even while Reform UK gains new ground by peddling serious disinformation on everything including climate change, 67 percent of their own members want more, not less, action on climate change.

Rising workplace temperatures and extreme weather are not distant threats. They are happening now. From schools and hospitals to offices and outdoor work, many working environments are becoming less safe and more uncomfortable.

Our members are reporting personal health impacts and disruption from extreme weather events and real impacts on their ability to deliver a service safely for themselves and others.

And the adaptations aimed to support a green transition to a more sustainable work environment often come with unforeseen consequences. Members are adapting to new ways of running buildings, delivering services, and using energy, frequently without adequate training or preparation.

Many of our members are in roles that are all about dealing with the climate crisis in their day-to-day job, drawing up the necessary transformation plans, cleaning up our waterways and coastlines, responding to floods, heatwaves, wildfires and other emergencies, often with limited resources in the face of increasing demand.

UNISON is uniquely positioned to campaign for a just transition across all our services and for all our communities. We must demand climate resilient infrastructure and ensure our members are not left behind in the shift to a greener economy.

The costs of doing nothing, both in human and financial terms, vastly outweigh the costs of acting now. We cannot delay action until a more convenient time. Failing to act only intensifies those costs and physical pressures on essential services and place greater demand on already stretched resources. Some of the necessary changes, if adopted in good time, will save money that is vital for investing in the other changes necessary.

It is our members in public services that are picking up the pieces and who are relied on to manage the consequences of climate change, playing a vital role in protecting communities and maintaining public wellbeing.

However, while the government is finally starting to tackle the important issue of just transition in energy production there is so much more to be done across every other aspect of industry and in the communities we live in. New, good, energy jobs are not the only good jobs we will need to face this emergency.

Adaptation and resilience is essential to combat current and increasing impacts of climate change. Yet it is not being discussed or invested in to the same degree as decarbonisation. Both are equally important and both will require increased training and jobs to meet new demands.

We need to build climate resilience into everything we do:

1) Health and Safety: Protecting vulnerable populations from extreme heat (like the 2022 heatwave) and ensuring essential services (like prisons) function;

2) Economic Stability: Reducing damages from extreme weather and ensuring food/water security, which also creates opportunities for new finance and green growth;

3) Environmental Resilience: Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity while creating nature-based solutions (e.g., wetlands) for cooling and flood control;

4) Infrastructure Protection: Building stronger infrastructure (flood barriers, cooling systems) to withstand future climate impacts, as highlighted by reports from the Climate Change Committee (CCC);

5) Buildings & Homes: Retrofitting homes and ensuring new designs can handle heat and flooding, especially for low income households;

6) Water & Food Systems: Managing drought risks and ensuring resilient food supplies;

7) Urban Planning: Creating more green spaces for cooling and flood management.

The UK’s current adaptation planning is considered insufficient by independent bodies like the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

There is a need for better government integration, funding, and policy to support widespread, effective action across all sectors and regions.

Government departments need to talk to each other about the impact of their plans on climate change. We cannot resolve climate change by only looking at energy use and production. Every area of government has a huge role to play in fighting, and preparing to mitigate and adapt to, the climate emergency. Public transport, health resources, environmental regulations, food production, skills and education, security and whichever department deals with new technology regulations (particularly AI use and impact) all need to work together.

Public services, our members, need to be recognised and invested in, as the vital social infrastructure preventing, preparing for and protecting against the impacts of climate change all of which will be an expanding area of demand even if we manage to reach the 2050 net zero carbon emissions.

Change is necessary and workers, and communities, must be central to the decision-making process.

Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:

1. a) Lobby governments across the UK and in campaign in workplaces where appropriate for:
2. i) A Just Transition, overseen by a UK wide just transition commission (with devolved powers and commissions essential) ensuring our members and communities are represented throughout;
3. ii) Urgent focus and investment on adaptation measures on an equal footing to decarbonisation measures;

iii) A national Climate Service (or equivalent) responsible for ensuring all departments co-ordinate their contributions to the necessary climate emergency mitigation and adaptations;

1. iv) An urgent discussion on the new and increased skills and jobs required to meet the impacts of the climate emergency beyond the (vital) energy sector;
2. v) Mandatory extreme weather planning across public services and local communities;
3. vi) Statutory facility time in line with Union Learning Reps, Health & Safety Reps and Equalities Reps (coming in 2026);

vii) Maximum workplace temperatures;

viii) Greater investment in public transport;

1. ix) The urgent introduction of the Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to tackle global supply chain abuses;
2. x) Increased financial support and environmental regulations for people to make the necessary changes recommended by the climate change committee;
3. xi) A full environmental impact assessment on the introduction of new AI data centres across the UK;
4. b) Progress previous national delegate conference motions on supporting the new Branch Environment Officer role and this expanding area of organising and bargaining, recognising this as a growth area of union activism;
5. c) Continue to actively promote the work of the Green UNISON campaign, the new branch Environment Officer position, the regional networks and national newsletter widely throughout the union to current and prospective members;
6. d) Work with the TUC, STUC, TUC Cymru and ICTU and sister unions on joint work in workplaces, national campaigning and also internationally.

Join Us

Get in the loop! Sign up to receive future GJA Newsletters and Blogs here.

SIGN UP Join the debate

Send us your contribution to the debate. We will contact you about using it here on our News & Debate page.

Name

Email

Contribution

Submit

The post UNISON shows the way! first appeared on Greener Jobs Alliance.

Liberating work

A one-year accelerator programme to support the creation of jobs in new worker-controlled green projects has been launched by workers.coop, the UK federation of worker and social cooperatives. Called Own the Future, the programme is part of a wider effort to build an ecological and abundant economy through worker-community controlled enterprise. It is the first such initiative from the organisation, which was founded in 2023 to unite worker cooperatives and build dialogue with other worker-led initiatives including unions, social and climate justice organisations. The first Own the Future cohort includes Canopy Coop, an ecological tree surgery and forestry group in Sheffield; Valley Roots, a food distribution hub in West Yorkshire; Nanny Solidarity Network, a childcare co-op in London; Feral Express, a queer bike courier in Sheffield; and Zero Emissions Delivery Waltham Forest, an established courier firm in London looking to transition to worker ownership.

Shifting power and wealth to workers

GJA’s Steering Group recently hosted a presentation by Siôn Whellens from workers.coop, where he outlined the political history and current status of the UK’s worker cooperatives, the composition of the new federation and its ambition to connect with other worker-led bodies.

workers.coop currently has around 100 businesses in membership, and a wider base of around 2,000 individual supporters. Enterprise members range from large organisations working in adult social care and wholesaling to medium sized engineering firms and smaller collectives of workers in ‘tech for good’, research, retailing, community-led agriculture and communications.

The federation’s members are distinct from businesses owned in trust for ‘employee benefit’. Most of them are rooted in the ecological and social movements, and practice radical worker democracy. workers.coop itself describes its mission as

“To enable workers to unite and collectively advance their economic, social and cultural interests. We value collaboration, solidarity and care for each other, our communities and our planet”.

Pride in Work?

While noting that up until now worker cooperatives have mainly been at the edge of Steering Group members’ awareness, they were particularly interested in the potential for worker-owned co-ops in industries such as solar installation and domestic retrofit. It was agreed to maintain links and dialogue between the two networks, with a view to identifying and capitalising on new opportunities.

workers.coop has free resources for unions and worker groups that might be researching democratic and ecological startups and business conversions, as well as access to a nationwide and international network of organisers and advisers. The federation and the Centre for Democratic Business recently issued a call for the government to close the circle of its £5bn ‘Price in Place’ investment in run-down high streets, by funding a sister programme provisionally called ‘Pride in Work’.This would be aimed at enabling workers and local communities to secure ownership and control of key local workplaces, with a focus on local renewable energy projects, the care sector, logistics and green retailing.

GJA supporters interested in developing links with worker-led cooperatives are invited to check out forum.workers.coop, or to receive occasional emails, including Own the Future updates. Anyone looking for specific advice or information can email solidarity@workers.coop

Join Us

Get in the loop! Sign up to receive future GJA Newsletters and Blogs here.

SIGN UP Join the debate

Send us your contribution to the debate. We will contact you about using it here on our News & Debate page.

Name

Email

Contribution

Submit

The post Liberating work first appeared on Greener Jobs Alliance.