The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) will publish a roadmap later today that aims to meet the needs of working people during the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The roadmap – ‘A just transition to a greener, fairer economy’ – calls for a cross-party Just Transition Commission including business, consumers and unions to plan a clear and funded path to a low-carbon economy.
It also seeks workplace transition agreements to put workers’ voices at the heart of plans in every workplace where change is required.
Funding should also be provided for transition skills so that all workers have access to training needed for a low carbon economy and guaranteed pathways to new work.
Employment standard protections should also be established to ensure new jobs in the low-carbon economy are not of lower quality than jobs that are changed or superseded, the roadmap said.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady (pictured) said: “Trade unions are committed to addressing the climate emergency. A greener economy can be a fairer economy too, with new work and better jobs right across Britain.
“It’s vital to avoid the mistakes of the 1980s, when industrial change devastated communities because workers had no say.
“This time we need a plan that everyone can get behind, with workers’ voices at the heart of it.
“That’s why we’re calling for politicians, businesses, consumers and unions to make those plans together, through a Just Transition Commission.”