1 - Workers' power

Without freedom of association and the right to protest and organise, workers will be left on the receiving hand of the transition. This is why freedom of association is one of the solutions to climate change. Labour rights groups and trade unions are engaging directly with workers and taking action for a Just Transition through research, advocacy, workplace awareness raising, supporting workers in the clean up after disasters and engaging with communities on climate. Trade unions are also bargaining with employers on climate issues. Unions’ work for a Just Transition is threatened by union busting and the repression of workers’ organisations, targeting of worker leaders and by the gap that exists between technocratic decision making, effective policies and practices and workers’ direct experiences.

To enable a worker-centred transition, workers must be able to lead in climate planning and to organise and bargain collectively; trade unions must have an inclusive, nondiscriminatory and participatory seat at the table when decisions about climate transition are being made and workers must be equipped with the knowledge, information, skills and access to legal support needed to be a driving force towards new models of production.

Collective bargaining agreements must be enforceable, and companies must be held to account for human and workers’ rights violations, including ecological damage caused by their operations. Workers’ organizations and their communities must be able to exercise their right to protest and dissent about all workers’ rights and human rights violations, in response to imminent danger and to call on their governments for change. Yet, too often fashion companies have benefited from state repression of environmental and human rights activists to further exploit workers, communities and the environment. Brands exert political and economic pressure internationally and domestically through the promise of investment and the threat of relocation. Experience shows that they generally use their power to influence governments to minimise labour and environmental regulations. Power must be shifted from brands to trade unions, workers’ organisations and citizens.