class struggle

By Union Jake and Adam - Valley Labor Report, April 26, 2023

By Kari Lyderson, Ron Kaminow, and Maximillian Alvarez - The Real News Network, April 26, 2023

By Union Jake, Adam Keller, and Lee Harris - Valley Labor Report, April 25, 2023

By Paul Atkin - Greener Jobs Alliance, April 23, 2023

This excerpt from GJA Newsletter editor Paul Atkin’s speech at the Trade Union Hub of the XR Big One protest on Saturday has been put around by XR Trade Unionists.

The relevant part of the full speech is here.

Why organise in the trade unions? Because the climate struggle is a class struggle.

Most analyses of carbon impacts totalise emissions or investment by country. This is vital because its states that have to take the actions we need.

Private companies won’t do it. Only 4% of the biggest UK companies match the “gold standard” for transition plans set by the government. And that’s this government.

It’s therefore important to be very clear about who’s doing what.

The economist Adam Tooze makes the point that the world needs to invest $4 trillion a year for a viable, sustainable green transition. In 2022 the total invested was just over $1 Trillion. So, a quarter of the way there. And of that, 49.7% was China on its own. 70% more than the USA and EU combined. That’s not the image we normally have, so it’s worth mulling over.

The UK would only match EU levels of investment if an incoming Labour Government stuck with its pledge to invest $28 billion a year – and that will be a battle with the likes of Ed Balls and Peter Mandelson who are arguing that this is “unaffordable”; and we need that fight whether we are in an affiliated union or not.

By Jon Queally - Common Dreams, April 22, 2023

"As the government continues to fan the flames of the climate and biodiversity crisis it's clear that only a collective effort can put it out," said the head of Greenpeace UK.

Tens of thousands demonstrated with a defiant yet jubilant spirit in London on Saturday to mark the second day of 'The Big One' climate protests aimed at getting the U.K. government to finally take bold action on the planetary emergency of greenhouse gas emissions.

A nonviolent die-in action was held outside Parliament, but the day of demonstration was billed as a "family-friendly" day of action meant to foster inclusion and participation as opposed to disruption or civil disobedience.

By Union Jake, Adam Keller, and David Grisco - Valley Labor Report, April 20, 2023

By staff - International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), April 17, 2023

The ITUC demands that the government of Kazakhstan immediately implements ILO recommendations, restores the status of the Trade Union of Fuel and Energy Industry Workers as the recognised sectoral union and carries out reforms to tackle discrimination in the sector.

It comes after over a hundred oil workers were arrested on 11 April for demonstrating in the capital, Astana, to highlight their unjust, exploitative and indecent treatment.

They were protesting after around 250 oil workers had been fired in the town of Zhanaozen by the company Ali Ber after it lost a contract with Kazmunaigaz, the state oil and gas company. In 2011, 17 people were killed and a hundred more injured there when security forces brutally ended a peaceful protest of several months over wages and working conditions that involved thousands of people.

Meaningful social dialogue

ITUC President Akiko Gono said: “This is typical of the corrupt way in which oil and gas is run in Kazakhstan, all at the expense of working people. Kazmunaigaz moves contracts between different operating companies to run down working conditions. These companies fire their workers when they lose contracts and the new, winning company re-employs some, but not all, and usually on worse conditions.

“This has to stop. Solutions are readily available to manage things in a much fairer way and give workers a voice. This will improve conditions in the sector and increase productivity. Social dialogue and collective bargaining are the best means to achieve transparency, stability and sustainability, but this cannot be genuine when freedom of association is restricted in law and practice.

“We demand the full implementation of the ILO recommendation on Kazakhstan, including on freedom of association, and the registration of the Trade Union of Fuel and Energy Industry Workers. This will lead to meaningful social dialogue and bargaining, which is a building block for tackling the corruption in the sector and ensuring decent work.

“Also, all charges against the workers who protested this week must be dropped. With the reforms we are demanding, they will have a channel to express their concerns and the next crisis can be averted.”

In meetings with the ILO Committee on Application of Standards, with several ILO officials and with an ITUC mission to the country, the government of Kazakhstan has promised to implement ILO recommendations. However, it has only made modest moves to improve collective dispute resolution processes and simplify industrial action by amending labour legislation. It must go further and promote genuine collective bargaining. It has yet to ensure full freedom of association in law, by amending trade union legislation, and in practice, by facilitating and not obstructing registration of unions. This should include ITUC affiliate the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan and the Trade Union of Fuel and Energy Industry Workers.