We joined trade unions and climate groups outside Parliament to demand that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, stop prioritising shareholder profits and start funding a just transition for North Sea workers and their communities. The market-led approach to the energy transition is failing. Shareholder profits have been prioritised over affordable energy, adequate public investment and good, green jobs.
The coalition is calling on the Chancellor for an emergency funding package of Ā£1.9 billion per year for North Sea workers ahead of the Spending Review. A funding package on this scale is urgently needed for oil and gas and supply chain workers to make the transition into renewable energy jobs, ensuring that workers and communities benefit.
The call is endorsed by the largest union representing UK offshore workers, Unite the Union, as well as the National Union of Rail and Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and Aberdeenās Trades Union Councils. 65 climate groups including Greenpeace UK, Uplift, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Oil Change International, Global Justice Now, Extinction Rebellion and Platform are also part of the coalition.
The Ā£1.9 billion emergency funding package to create permanent, unionised renewable energy jobs and support the countryās oil and gas workers to transition into them is comprised of:
Ā£1.1 billion per year to develop permanent, local jobs in public and community-owned wind manufacturing.
Ā£440 million of further investment each year for ports, on top of the Ā£1.8 billion already committed through the National Wealth Fund.
Ā£355 million per year to develop a dedicated training fund for offshore oil and gas workers, with match-funding from industry.
The articles below were originally published on the Greener Jobs Alliance blog.
The case for union involvement and retrofit as public works
The Retrofit for the Future Campaign, launched at an online meeting on 19th March, is a collaboration between the Peace and Justice Project, Fuel Poverty Action, community and rentersā union ACORN, and health professionalsā campaign group Medact. Detailed demands are set out on the campaign website, but in a nutshell they address three key areas:
A proper plan for developing a skilled workforce to carry out energy efficiency retrofits.
Protection for private sector tenants against evictions or rent hikes after retrofit work on homes.
Accountability to residents for the quality and effectiveness of work on their homes.
Climate campaigners and retrofit specialists have long pointed out the urgent need to address the UKās leaky buildings (with homes currently contributing around 20% of territorial emissions), as well as the formidable task of building the needed skilled workforce, the inadequacy of training programmes that fail to equip trainees with a holistic understanding of the thermal dynamics of the building, and the dreadful health consequences of badly implemented retrofits resulting in cold bridges, damp and mould, too often with no redress for householders.
Furthermore, with the government increasingly leaning in to the rightwing framing of climate action as an unaffordable imposition on ordinary people, the case for a campaign that counters that by clearly articulating the synergies between climate action and good jobs, health, decent housing and lower energy bills becomes indisputable. However, as supporters we have some, hopefully constructive, points to make, relating both to the campaign demands and, connectedly, to the work of translating the common interest of workers, activists and communities into an effective campaign.
It states: "Congress agrees that climate change poses a systemic risk to working class communities, but at a time of rising geopolitical tension does not believe that we can abandon fossil fuels until we know how the jobs and communities from the North Sea fields will be protected. Congress notes with dismay that the new government has adopted a target to stop drilling in the North Sea before any plan for jobs has been agreed."
and calls for "an industrial strategy policy that maximises our domestic energy strengths for national security, with all assets and options part of the solution: nuclear, renewables and oil and gas production"
Unison, UCU and NEU spoke against the motion, and it went to a card vote, passing by by 2,712k for to 2,457k against.
By passing the motion, Congress agreed to campaign for a national maximum working temperature, a heat wave furlough scheme and a climate action plan, and to support Heat Strike when temperatures go above 36C. Heat Strike is not a legal union strike but can include direct actions, protests, workplace lunchtime walkouts, awareness raising, lobbying of politicians or community actions.
Both had the same core - a recognition of climate change as a class issue, and the need for a rapid transition away from fossil fuels based on a just transition, public ownership and a national climate service.
GMB had submitted an amendment to the original PCS motion. As you can see this contradicts the intention of the original motion (what we'd call a wrecking amendment) and Unison and PCS did not accept its inclusion in the composite motion.
GMB and Prospect abstained and Unite said they were supporting the motion 'with reservation', so the motion was carried.
There are clearly contradictions between these motions, and debates will inevitably continue. It's important that these are framed in the context of the climate crisis as an urgent global issue that affects all workers. We're very grateful to all those who held that red line strongly at TUC.
Among much else, C18 commits TUC to "a year of green trade union activity including engagement with community and climate justice groups". We think this could be a very useful platform for activity where we can take the initiative.
Watch this space for further discussion and action.
Motions proposed by Unison and PCS would commit the Trade Union movement to the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuel and invest in climate jobs. The GMB has proposed amendments which if accepted would remove this clear commitment to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels.
This is an important moment for TUC delegates to support motions which would give impetus to putting the climate crisis at the top of the TU agenda and seriously get behind demanding an urgent transition with huge investment in the jobs which could make a difference.
The GMB amendments should be rejected. We need a clear and unambiguous commitment to end fossil fuels in line with the urgency of the climate crisis.
The details of the motions and debates are covered in the Green Jobs Alliance (GJA) special newsletter which poses the questions - 'Will our movement be on the right side of the science and the right side of history after the TUC Congress this year?' This is essential reading for all and especially for TUC delegates.
The GMB flesh out their support for gas in a motion on industrial strategy, this is a motion which would, if passed, disastrously demand continued fossil fuel investment by the government. Unite's motion on the transition in North Sea oil and gas fields has adopted the slogan, 'no ban without a plan'. But we need both. A ban cannot not be counterposed to a plan, both are urgent and necessary. The detail of these motions are discussed in the GJA newsletter, and the full TUC agenda is here (climate motions from p15 onwards)
Sun 8th Sept: What should a new government do for jobs and climate in a climate crisis?
Sunday 8th September, 6.30-7.45pm, Meeting room 1c, Brighton Centre, hosted by CACCTU
The climate crisis is a class and trade union issue, already impacting the lives and livelihoods of working class people globally. Tackling it requires urgent action on fossil fuels and active leadership across the union movement is essential. This is not an issue any trade unionist can ignore.
An end to fossil fuels, a just transition and a plan to deliver this and huge public investment in the transformation of the economy have never been more urgent.
Labour has swept to power on a wave of disillusionment and anger at the Conservative Party. Itās an opportunity to fix much that has been broken in this country, to build a fairer society, and also to take urgent action on the existential threat of climate breakdown, which is already causing destruction around the world, hitting those who have done least to cause the crisis hardest.
We need to invest in the future
For decades the level of public investment in the UK has been significantly lower than that of comparable countries. The Labour government has promised to deliver tangible improvements to peopleās lives; to repair the damage to public services caused by austerity; and to get the UK back on track to address the climate crisis. These are all essential, but if public spending continues to be constrained to austerity levels, it is hard to see how these aspirations can succeed.
We need a workforce for the climate emergency
Any credible strategy to tackle the climate crisis needs to also be a jobs strategy, as set out for example in the Campaign against Climate Changeās 2021 report, Climate Jobs: Building a Workforce for the Climate Emergency. There are jobs to be created around the country - in insulating homes and installing heat pumps, in public transport, in renewable energy, in shifting to a zero waste economy, repairing, reusing and recycling. And in the rural economy, where farming is already being hit by climate breakdown.
The climate crisis demands that we need a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and no new oil and gas exploration or infrastructure. Jobs in North Sea oil extraction have already halved in the past decade, a trend which will inevitably continue as reserves decline. A just transition plan, shifting to renewable energy that can give this country genuine energy security, is not just needed for the climate, it is essential to protect these workers and communities.
A CACCTU response to Uniteās āNo Ban Without a Planā campaign.
Launched on 17th of May, Uniteās No Ban Without a Plan campaign aims āto ensure that a future Labour government drops its planned ban on new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, until a genuine programme for the just transition of work is operationalā.
As an organisation campaigning for climate justice, our response to this is unequivocal.
We stand in full solidarity with militant action to ensure that the transition away from oil and gas is one that is fair to workers and their communities: protecting incomes, providing good new jobs on at least equivalent terms and conditions, and guaranteeing furlough where there are unavoidable gaps in employment or where a worker needs to retrain.
Equally, we stand in solidarity with the millions of workers, worldwide and in the UK, whose livelihoods, homes and lives are threatened or have already been destroyed by the climate impacts of fossil fuel burning. A ban on new licences, as part of a phase-out of fossil fuel extraction, is therefore non-negotiable; it is not a bargaining chip, a 'concession' to be granted or withdrawn, but an existential necessity for all of us.
On the positive side, the campaign hints at movement in Uniteās position on oil and gas - a recognition that a transition away from fossil fuels is both necessary and inevitable, and can, with the right policies and investment, be achieved without mass job losses. A move towards identifying and bargaining around the terms of such a transition certainly looks like a step forward.
However, we have serious concerns about the rhetoric framing the campaign. We also feel that it misrepresents the situation in the North Sea in some significant ways:
1. A ban on new licences, as promised in Labourās election manifesto, will not in itself make a significant difference to continuing extraction. It usually takes more than ten years from licence issue for a field to start production, and they have said they do not intend to revoke the large number of licences already issued. These include the vast Rosebank field, whose reserves, if burned, would generate more than the combined annual emissions of the 28 poorest countries. This is not a particularly strong climate policy, nor is it in any way an immediate threat to jobs.
2. North Sea oil and gas are already in sharp decline. The Scottish Herald reported last November that 200,000 jobs supported by the North Sea oil and gas sector had been lost over the last decade. The real threat to jobs is not having a transition plan for the energy sector and its workforce.
3. As regards āenergy securityā, even the UK government acknowledges that 80% of oil from new fields such as Rosebank would be traded on international markets, making very little difference to prices or to the proportion of oil products used in the UK that come from UK waters. The amount of oil from new licences sent to UK refineries would account for less than 1% of the fuels used in the UK in 2030.
As for the language used, we believe it plays too readily into the populist demonisation of climate action as an authoritarian assault on workersā freedoms and standards of living, which ignores both the threat climate breakdown presents to workers and their own agency in shaping a transition.
The recent decision by TATA to close down its two blast furnaces at Port Talbot steel works over the coming year, with loss of around 2,800 jobs, is a devastating blow to both the workers and to their wider community.
What is happening in Port Tabot is precisely the ācliff edgeā of sudden mass redundancies, the threat of which is often ruthlessly weaponised to create opposition to climate action
But despite the rhetoric about decarbonisation, TATAās decision to shut down the blast furnaces ahead of starting production with an electric arc furnace is based purely on financial not climate considerations.
Their decision not to install the additional technologies needed for low carbon primary steel production (as opposed to recycling) is not a decarbonisation plan, but a business plan.
In contrast to this disaster, a worker-led, socially just transition plan would determine the most effective way to decarbonise across the economy, whilst meeting the immense labour needs of new or growing sectors vital to the transition.
It would do this whilst fully protecting the pay and conditions of all workers affected by technological transitions, whether work is currently available for them or not, as well as during any re-training.
The level of coordination and planning required across numerous sectors is not possible within the context of private companies vying for markets, but implies a need for public ownership of key industries, with full worker participation in planning, and delivery overseen by a public National Climate Service.
Below is a motion of support for the TATA steelworkers written for urgent adoption by union branches, regions and trades councils.
In June the motion will be voted on at BFAWU conference and Unison conference (see agenda pdf download, p83 onwards for the motion as adapted by NEC and brought by branches)
The motion has been passed at PCS conference, May 2024
It has been passed at the NEU conference, April 2024 (amended text here)
Background to motion
Below and in printable form is a General Motion intended for wide circulation across the trade union movement, and adoption by branches, regions, trades councils and annual conferences, with an ultimate aim for it to be heard at the 2024 TUC.
The motion is deliberately pitched at a high level, starting with the basic assertion that climate change is a class issue and a trade union issue. It sets out the fundamental elements that should underpin the climate policies of every union in order to achieve a common understanding of the crisis, and how to respond to it in the interests of climate justice for workers, public service and the planet. Many of these elements will already be clearly understood, but there is a need for a consistent and coherent articulation of these across the movement.
The reason this General Motion is being raised now is due to the fragmented and inconsistent responses of different trade unions, within unions, and between members and their leaderships. In particular, the climate-related motions passed at recent Trades Union Congresses have been deeply regressive, producing a narrative that runs counter to the long term interests, and job security, of workers, both in the U.K. and globally. This motion seeks to redirect that narrative towards more progressive and radical solutions that will produce and secure thousands of jobs, restore a public service ethos, and make genuine progress towards countering the climate emergency.
Adaptations to the motion are welcomed to incorporate specific local, sectoral or international factors; the motion needs to be relevant to each constituency while ensuring that the fundamental elements are retained. It purposely avoids specific references in order to be universal, and it is envisaged that details of specifics would be covered in complementary motions.
Finally, this motion is not viewed as the property of any one union, climate organisation or political faction. It has emerged from a common analysis among activists across a number of trade unions, many of whom are also involved with the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union group (CACCTU), Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA) and other climate networks.
We stand with millions around the world calling for:
Ceasefire now. An end to the siege on Gaza: safe water, food, fuel, and medicine now.
Release all hostages and all Palestinian political prisoners being held illegally.
An end to Israel's occupation and work towards a just peace
We are horrified at the ongoing suffering and condemn all attacks on civilians and collective punishment. As trade unionists we also look to a just solution to the conflict. Many of the unions we belong to have policy which opposes Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land, apartheid policies and permanent sieges of Gaza and West Bank, which have limited access for Palestinian people to agricultural lands, clean water and fuel.
PCS Union was closely involved with developing the original One Million Climate Jobs campaign. As climate disasters intensify, global emissions rise, and the gap widens between UK climate targets and effective polices to achieve them, the need is greater than ever for a comprehensive climate jobs plan to cut emissions across all sectors. For PCS, we know this necessary transformation cannot be implemented effectively as the Civil Service is not designed to deliver a long term plan that requires the greatest degree of cross departmental working. That is why we have proposed the National Climate and Biodiversity Service, which would join together all net zero work in the UK Civil Service so that government operates as a coherent whole.
Faced with the government's backtracking, driven in part by misguided electoral calculations (as part of their war on woke and the alleged war on the motorist), we must redouble our efforts. Both in the trade unions and in the climate change movement we need to work together convince workers and the public that the government is wrong, but also to take the necessary actions to get this government and any future ones to adopt the right polices.
The full text of the new pamphlet is below, you can also
National Climate Change and Biodiversity Service: A PCS workersā plan for an alternative civil service
The era of global warming has ended and āthe era of global boiling has arrivedā, the UN secretary general, AntĆ³nio Guterres, has declared.
In those circumstances, the notion that it is business as usual for the Civil Service or society as a whole, clearly is not sustainable. There needs to be a radical overhaul of how the UK Civil Service works. This would only be one element in the solution ā you still need political will and a plan ā but without effective state mechanisms there is no hope in ensuring net zero.
