Received from: TUC Trades Union Councils Conference
Congress 2018 welcomes the following:
i. Trade Union Councils in Yorkshire and the Humber TUC region have been working together with the regional TUC to develop a low-carbon regional strategy.
ii. The Yorkshire and the Humber region hosts a strategically important industrial complex that generates more carbon gas emissions than any other region in the UK.
iii. These industries include steel, chemicals, glass and cement, which are strongly unionised and provide thousands of much-needed, good quality jobs.
iv. Our international commitments to reduce carbon gas emissions could pose a threat to the future of these industries and the jobs they provide unless real action is taken to ’clean up‘ their production processes.
v. Yorkshire and the Humber TUC has already taken a lead in promoting a strategy for a Yorkshire and the Humber low-carbon industrial region.
Yorkshire and the Humber TUC is committed to working with all competent actors to find environmentally sustainable solutions that can ensure the continued operation of these essential industries and protect the jobs they provide. This of course must include working with our trade union partners including shop stewards and activists employed in these industries. But we must also work with employers, local enterprise partnerships, local authorities, environmental groups and relevant civil society organisations to develop a sustainable strategy for a Yorkshire and the Humber low-carbon region.
Some of the solutions must include:
a. carbon capture and storage technology
b. new technology and modernised industrial processes that reduce carbon gas emissions
c. recycling, combating waste, and other “green” solutions
d. capture and use of carbon gases where possible
e. collective bargaining agreements between unions and employers to achieve change whilst protecting jobs (including retraining where necessary)
f. a just transition for workers so that no-one is left behind as industry and commerce adjusts to a low-carbon future.
Congress agrees to encourage Trade Union Councils in other regions of England and Wales to work with their regional TUC to develop appropriate low-carbon regional strategies, taking into account the particular carbon footprint applicable in their area.
Congress further agrees to put the fight against climate change at the heart of its campaign strategy, and urges the affiliated trade unions, the Trade Union Councils and most importantly our army of shop stewards and activists to give it their full support.
TUC Trades Union Councils Conference