International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

By Sean Petty - Socialist Worker, December 14, 2015

WHY WERE people from your union present at the climate talks?

FOR A number of reasons. Especially after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 caused heavy damage in large parts of New York City, including several public hospitals where our members care for patients, we have become very active in the movement to stop climate change.

We opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, we opposed fracking in our state, and we helped mobilize for the People's Climate March in September 2014. We also developed lunchtime educational meetings in our hospitals around climate change and are organizing a Climate Justice committee, which is something we hope other unions emulate.

We wanted to come to Paris to relate these experiences and join with other unions in sending a clear message that we have to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, and that the necessary transition to renewable energy has to happen on a world-historic scale, has to involve the creation of good, union jobs, and has to happen through a massive expansion of public investment in energy, infrastructure and transportation.

HOW WAS the union presence organized during the COP 21?

THE MAIN global federation of unions is the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), and it is the official voice of unions within negotiations. The ITUC also organized a two-day series of workshops called the "Trade Union Forum on Climate and Jobs," where a number of unions contributed to panel discussions around different aspects of the climate crisis.

The ITUC also held workshops at the broader assembly of climate justice organizations called the "Sommet citoyen pour le climat" (People's Climate Summit), which took place in Motreuil, a close suburb of Paris, over the weekend of December 5-6.

The ITUC's main objective in the talks over the last decade or so was to fight for two words to be included in any final agreement: "just transition." This language was included in drafts leading up to the COP 21, but was dropped pretty early on during negotiations.

This triggered a significant action on December 10, where as many as 400 members of the union delegation and their allies staged a sit-in for several hours in the social space adjacent to the talks. This was a somewhat bold move, as the French ban on protests, imposed following the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, was still in effect. The French authorities chose not to have a confrontation and allowed to action to proceed without incident.

The protest gained attention for this issue. But the strategy of focusing on getting vague language into a nonbinding agreement as the primary focus of international trade union action has to be questioned. The stakes are way too high for such low expectations.

Press Release - International Trade Union Confederation, November 19, 2015

With the climate summit taking place in ten days in Paris, the ITUC issues a renewed call to all its members to take to the streets for climate justice in countries around the world.

“The cancelation of Paris marches and demonstrations based on security concerns adds one more reason for workers to show that no wall can be built between immediate problems and so-called long-term ones: climate change is already happening and destroying jobs and communities,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.

The union movement is heavily involved in the organisation of the 28-29 November marches in Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia, and dozens of national centres, sectoral federations and local unions are bringing workers together to show social justice is climate justice.

“Workers and their unions stand for decent jobs, social justice and prosperity for all, and the fight against climate change is about all those,” said Burrow.

Trade unions from around the world will still come to Paris and join its French counterparts as well as other social movements and organisations in the COP21 as well as for the Trade Union Climate Forum, part of which will be held in the Citizens’ Summit in Montreuil.

“Even without the Paris demonstrations, politicians will not be left off the hook. Our voices will be stronger than ever in calling for a climate deal that must protect people and the planet,” concluded Sharan Burrow.

Union members are asked to wear green hard hats in the rallies to show support for jobs and climate action. Hard hats can be personalised with stickers available from the ITUC.

By the International Trade Union Congress - Climate and Capitalism, May 18, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) is hosting an international climate summit for 200 trade unionists from all over the world in Paris on the 14th and 15th of September. The climate jobs campaigns in several countries will be part of the conference, and we urge any trade unionists interested in the idea of climate jobs to come.

The details of the call from the ITUC are:

Trade Union Climate Summit – will you be there?
Paris, 14 – 15 September 2015

Is this you? Climate change is your concern and a just transition to a zero carbon economy is a struggle you are passionate about. Your union has taken a commitment to support climate action and you have plans or ideas for union actions in the fight to ‘decarbonize’ our world.

If you want to come to the conference what you need to do is:

Send an email to Anabella.rosemberg@ituc-csi.org, and include the following:
Your name, your union, and your country.
And indicate that the leadership of your union supports your nomination as a delegate.
There will be some support for a small number of delegates but the support of your union would be necessary.

There are likely to be more than 200 people who want to be delegates. If so, the organizers will select people with an eye to a balance of countries and between the global south and the global north, and get back to you with an invitation by the end of June.

ITUC contribution for COP 20 - Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, November 2, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The international community shares today more scientific evidence than it needs to inform decision making on climate change. The impacts on peoples’ lives, livelihoods and prosperity if we fail to act now will be calamitous. Yet the opportunities for social progress and decent work behind an ambitious climate protection agenda are such that it would be irrational to let go this unique time in history where we can still solve the problem.

The international labour movement has supported the UNFCCC convinced that it is the place for delivering a fair, ambitious and binding global Agreement on climate change. But time is running out. Solutions must be found at all levels: from community based diversification to sectoral transformations, from macroeconomic planning at the national level to an international deal that sets a global goal for inspiring massive action.

The global crisis of climate change comes in parallel with another global crisis, the crisis of inequality. Never in history has humanity has created so much wealth and concentrated it in such a small number of hands –according to recent data the 66 wealthiest people in the Planet have the same amount of wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion!

Tackling these two challenges together requires bold measures, and most important, ensuring efforts towards the improvement of one goal are coherent with addressing the other. Climate measures must contribute to protecting the weakest in society; equality measures must put the need for moving towards a sustainable future at its heart.

Trade unions are convinced that only a massive demand from citizens will be able to correct the current unambitious path in which leaders have set their comfort zones. That said, it is our duty as workers’ representatives to expect leadership and vision from the very people we elect.