Leaders of world trade unions are calling on political leaders gathered in Copenhagen to invest in jobs and develop a green economic policy to tackle climate change.
A Global Unions’ report Green Growth for jobs and social justice was issued today. In announcing its publication, Anita Normark, chair of the Council of Global Unions and general secretary of Building and Wood Workers International, stated “The fight to reverse climate change must be fought in communities and in workplaces.
Strong action by political leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is essential to set the direction, but it is not sufficient to achieve climate change goals: to respond to this challenge, we must deepen solidarity and participation by creating sustainable jobs and bolstering democracy.”
The publication combines the trade union consensus positions developed under the lead of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) with sectoral perspectives of the Global Union Federations as well as the views of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).
Guy Ryder, secretary of the CGU and general secretary of the ITUC, in his article, described the common trade union goals: “The ITUC, TUAC, and the Global Union Federations are striving to put social justice on the climate change agenda.
We have made progress, but we have a long way to go. An environmentally-engaged trade union movement is no longer a theoretical possibility. It now forms part of our collective identity. Together, we can and will make a difference.”
