Green jobs to reduce unemployment -in particular for young workers-,  to increase jobs quality and to shift the economy from its energy-intensive growth model? A new report from Sustainlabour on plans and state of the art.

Sustainlabour presents an overview of green jobs' data in South Africa, the possible scenarios for creating new jobs, the South African policy framework for promoting them, what social actors are doing in general, and in particular what is being demanded by trade unions. The report has been count with the collaboration of TIPS (Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies)

This report is part of the Social Dialogue Project for Green and Decent Jobs. South Africa-European Dialogue on Just Transition, funded by European Commission.

Sustainlabour presents a report that draws on the experiences of green job creation in the region in recent years: employment data, EU policies, trade union and  social actors inputs.

Now available the new version of our training guide on Climate Change. The previous version made that may trade unionists started to understand the problem. This version offers up dated information, data and graphics. 

Access to information and training is necessary to improve working conditions. The purpose of this manual is to provide workers and trade unions with general information and guidance on how to deal with climate change.

The manual targets mainly workers and trade unions, both from developing countries and countries with economies in transition from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The manual is elaborated for women and men, workers, who are in industry, agriculture, government and other public or private sectors, to enable them carefully consider the potential risks and opportunities of climate change as regards employment, and take appropriate actions at the local, national or international levels.

It’s time to start understanding the problems in order to be able to take part in solving them. We wish a pleasant, action-oriented learning experience.

Ths training guide is part of the joint project with UNEP: Towards green and sustainable jobs

The report compiles and analyzes existing data on green job creation and reflects the enormous potential that these jobs still have in Spain. Reading the report is particularly interesting at present, since the country is facing very high levels of unemployment, exceeding 50% among the youth labor force, and therefore implementing measures to create jobs in sectors that ensure environmental and social sustainability and guarantee a successful exit from the current economic crisis is urgently needed.

The green economy offers huge opportunities for job creation, many of which are already underway in the Spanish economy. These range from sectors traditionally associated with environmental content, such as renewable energy and recycling, other emerging fields of green jobs, such as sustainable mobility and finally activities in the so-called traditional sectors with potential for conversion into sustainable activities such as production concrete, steel or paper.
 

According to these studies, the country recorded 400,000 to over half a million green jobs, equivalent to 2.2% of total employment in Spain, contributing to the Spanish economy of approximately 25,000 million per year, a 2, 4% of gross domestic product (GDP). Since 1998 the number of green jobs has increased by 235%.

However, the severity of the recession in Spain and the austerity measures being put in place in the country greatly hinder green job creation in both the near and long term. The implementation of these measures is particularly ironic and contradictory taking into account that European studies show that green sectors have not only weathered the crisis better than the non green ones but have actually created more jobs. That is why without any doubt green jobs are particularly well placed in the scenario being discussed at present, hat includes new investments aiming at the economic recovery of different economies, including the Spanish one.

Sustainlabour has worked on this case study in collaboration with the Biodiversity Foundation and the efforts under Green Jobs Program of the ILO (International Labour Organization) to build a knowledge base on global best practices of policies that aim at creating green jobs.

• It is estimated that in the European Union 14.6 million jobs, in other words 7% of the labour market, are directly related to biodiversity. In the case of developing countries, this figure rises to around 927 million, in other words 35% of their labour market.
• As far as jobs related to ecosystem services are concerned these figures are even higher, with 55% of jobs in the European Union and 84% of jobs in developing countries being closely related to these services.
• Future’s jobs: An appropriate environmental management which protects biodiversity and ecosystems is an important source of the creation of new green employment.
• Farming is a clear example: organic farming production creates a third more employment than non-organic farming practices.
• In the case of the forestry sector it is calculated that as many as 10 million new jobs could be created as a result of sustainable forest management.
• Fishing: 100,000 new jobs would be created in Europe alone if 43 of the 150 European fish populations were renewed. This would mean a 28% increase in the total number of jobs in the European Union.
• Attention must also be paid to employment quality. Biodiversity-friendly production is usually responsible for better working conditions. A prerequisite for the success of policies, programmes and measures for the conservation of natural biodiversity and ecosystems is social and gender equality.

The report also draws on the experiences of those unions pioneers in this field that are working on concrete proposals to ensure a just transition for all workers towards sustainability on biodiversity and ecosystems’ management: sustainable management of hotel facilities through workers training and dialogue in Malaysia, training needs analysis and professional career prospects on the protection of biodiversity in France, a proposal of a new fisheries act to ensure environmental and labour in addition in Uruguay are some of these examples.

A new manual, specially addressed to workers and trade unions from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua, has just been launched as part of the project on Chemical Risks that Sustainlabour is implementing in the region with the support of the SAICM QSP Trust Fund. 

The Manual is a very important training tool to strengthen the capacities of the trade unions and workers from the region, in developing trade union actions to reduce Chemical Risks at workplaces.

Nepalese workers and their trade unions are committed to fighting climate change by protecting Nepal’s beautiful forests and livelihoods, and are taking concrete actions to reduce deforestation. For over 30 years Nepalese communities have been working hard to manage their forests and to help protect their environment.

The Nepalese Trade Union Congress Independent (NTUC-I), with the support of Sustainlabour has been working on a campaign for workers from the forestry and agricultural sector to tackle climate change and deforestation. Nepalese trade unions understand the importance of learning about the effects of climate change, about the country’s vulnerability and how to adapt, about what is REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), and to raise workers´ voices to press for the recognition of the role of community forests´ in climate change mitigation and conservation.

Workers have an important role to play in the making of decisions on forestry management and calling for the promotion of job creation in the agriculture, water, forestry, transportation, renewable energy, waste management and tourism sectors, to protect biodiversity and prevent environmental degradation. Nepalese trade unions are on the way to doing just that.

This initiative is part of the joint UNEP-Sustainlabour programme “Towards Green and Decent Jobs: Enhancing Workers and Trade Unions´ Capacity”.

Waste collectors are coming out of marginalization and demanding decent, green jobs. Promoting sound waste management, calling for national policy changes, selective collection, productive use of waste, & involving their fellow citizens in the reduction and sorting of waste at the source, are some of the objectives of this campaign.

The campaign is part of a line of work that is being developed by the group of Health and Environment of the Uruguay trade union PIT-CNT, along with the Union of Solid Urban Waste Classifiers (UCRUS, a trade union of informal waste classifiers, and a member of the PIT -CNT), REDES-Friends of the Earth (non-governmental organization) and the Department of Extension of the University of the Republic.

The campaign is an example of how workers organize, toward raising their political voice, demanding recognition and dignifying the vital work that they do which makes important social, economic and ecological contributions, such as mitigating global warming. Through the campaign workers are encouraging the incorporation of civil society organizations in the sustainable management of solid waste in order to promote a change in national waste policy on the following basis:

• To minimize the environmental impact of waste, avoiding where possible burial or incineration.
• To ensure the maximum value of the recovery of waste through conscious action and systematic classification for reuse and recycling.
• To integrate and organize informal classifiers into the recovery chain, so as to promote integration and social inclusion and improving their quality of life.

To find out more about UCRUS and about the work of the waste pickers, their platform and their commitment to the defence of the environment, read their bulletin here (in Spanish).

This initiative is part of the joint UNEP-Sustainlabour programme “Towards Green and Decent Jobs: Enhancing Workers and Trade Unions´ Capacity”.       

Truck drivers working for the environment? Truck drivers have launched a campaign to better understand the changes taking place around them. They often transport dangerous cargo - a risk to their health and the environment. Knowing more about what is being transported, how to manage waste, calling for occupational health & safety and environment committees, are some of the objectives of this campaign.

What’s more Ugandan truck drivers want to show that climate change can be tackled from any sector. They are learning how to mitigate it, how to drive more efficiently, reduce use of fuel.

The Amalgamated Transport and General Workers´ Union (ATGWU), with the support of Sustainlabour has been working on this campaign to raise awareness on climate change, its affects on the environment and on workers´ health, by addressing specific environmental challenges related to this sector. Truck drivers and workers at Roadside Resource Centres are learning about how to reduce pollution, transport substances and dispose of waste in a safe way, take better care of their vehicles, drive efficiently, and how to demand joint action by employers and the government on recycling and waste disposal practices in order to protect the surrounding environment – water, soil and wetlands.

Video on the launch of the campaign in Uganda is available here.

This initiative is part of the joint UNEP-Sustainlabour programme “Towards Green and Decent Jobs: Enhancing Workers and Trade Unions´ Capacity”.

Today the world faces an unprecedented global crisis that affects the very basis of our societies, and encompasses a number of serious and planetary crises: economic, social, food, employment, climate, environmental. The challenges are mounting up and it is obvious that it is workers worldwide, especially in developing countries, who are the ones to feel the negative effects first of these challenges.

While it is necessary to take some short-term measures, we have to think about a more long-term model which ensures that social, economic and environmental progress go hand in hand, in the hope of avoiding a future like that of today for the next generations. This manual aims to contribute to this process, adding elements and analytical tools for the African trade union movement. This initiative is promoted by ILO’s International Training Centre in Turin and Sustainlabour.