ITF delegates at climate change demonstration in Durban (photo Jill Kubit)

Day two of the climate change and transport workers seminar in Durban (1-2 December 2011) was opened by Asbjørn Wahl, chair of the ITF working group on climate change.

Session 4: Understanding employment issues
Jane Barrett presented the SATAWU research paper, which was part of a contribution to the One Million Climate Jobs Campaign (South Africa). The research gives a practical insight into the transport jobs that could be created in South Africa as a result of climate change policies. The research was inspired by the ITF climate change resolution from Congress Mexico City. South Africa, as the largest CO2 emitter in Africa, provides a good case study.

The research found that if only 10% of car commuters could be attracted to public transport, there would be 15,000 new direct jobs created and an additional 55,000 indirect jobs. Therefore, for every direct job in public transport there would be about 5 indirect jobs. The other advantages of expanding and investing in public transport include; safer public transport, reduced time as people are not stuck in traffic jams and a reduction of road traffic collisions. This is of particular significance in South Africa because of the high rate of road traffic collisions and deaths. Each year there are 900,000 road traffic collisions and 17,000 deaths, and almost half of these deaths are pedestrians.

The rail network in South Africa is substantial with over 22,000km of track, but the long distance rail service is very unpredictable and freight trains always take priority over passenger trains. Even with this bias towards freight trains, most goods are transported by road even though the cost is greater.  In both passenger and freight rail transport there is a huge potential for growth, with improvements to the infrastructure, but this needs political will. In South Africa, freight transport is predicted to increase, and one of the actions unions should take is to put political pressure to ensure that rail gets an increased percentage of this.

For road freight, the research found that unions should support the volume of road freight being kept steady, and make efforts to reduce emissions, by using cleaner fuels, reducing speed, carrying full loads, and improving driver handling and maintenance. 

In order to achieve a low carbon transport future, unions must be involved in transport planning and lobby government to invest in public transport.

Jonathan Neale from One Million Climate Jobs (UK) and also researcher for the ETF project on climate change argued that as there are over 40 million people unemployed in Europe, a policy for green jobs could create 7 million new jobs in transportation and 5 million jobs in renewable energy. However, he noted that in order for workers to really benefit from these new jobs, he argued that these jobs should be in the public sector.

He highlighted the mass demonstrations and strikes of the last year, the Arab Spring, Indignados movement, Occupy movement, demonstrations in the central squares of cities around the world and public sector and other industrial strikes, have opened up the potential for a mass global movement that could transform transport and transform energy (to renewable electricity).

The discussion that followed raised many questions that as unions we need to develop our thinking on, and for which there may be different solutions depending on the local context. There were four main areas of discussion:

Modal shift

• What impact will the shift from car to public transport really have on the environment?
• How will the shift from road to rail work? How can unions put pressure on their governments? How does the market affect how goods are transported?
• Will a shift from buses to light rail reduce the number of jobs?
• How will bus lanes impact on the informal workers who work along the roadside?

Job creation and loss

• How long will it take to create these new transport jobs? Jonathon responded that many of these jobs could be created within the next 2-3 years, and most would be permanent. If bus-only lanes are created and cars banned during rush hour and city centres, this would create new bus drivers jobs. New rail jobs and renewable energy ones  would take longer to create, because of the infrastructure needed.
• How will workers have the rights skills for these new jobs? How can unions ensure that there is a plan for the transfer of skills for workers? 
• Where will transport jobs will be lost? Many workers fear that adopting a policy on climate change would result in the loss of jobs. The presenters agreed that no transport worker would be sacked because of climate change policies, but that in the long term there would be less people recruited in some areas of transport and more in other areas. A responsible climate change transport policy would argue for a reduction of growth of transport, rather than cutting jobs.

Reducing speed and new vehicles

• If you reduce the speed of shipping, what do you do about perishables? Will this increased cost then be transferred to the final product and consumers? Will we then need more ships if they are all travelling slower?
• If you slow the speed of trucks then for some routes the working hours would be too long for workers (e.g. between Jo’burg and Durban currently takes 8 hours). 
• What about the use of old vehicles and old train stock? These old vehicles are the most polluting vehicles. There could be new jobs in the green manufacturing industry, rather than importing old vehicles to South Africa. In Cape Town there was a recent protest on the state of the rolling stock which would have been an opportunity for unions to connect with the community and climate change and potentially bring in more supporters. 

International politics

• What is the role of the private sector?
• How do we ensure there is democratic control of the money that is channelled to green investments? So far, most green jobs have been created in China.  How do we ensure that environmental schemes benefit workers, e.g. when the government offers loans for solar panels, unions can help ensure that workers can access and benefit from these schemes.
  Union involvement in the development of new transport infrastructure is essential to ensure that a social justice perspective is taken.
• Who are the international players? The World Bank’s policy for many decades has promoted road building and the movement of freight by trucks rather than rail. This policy, often a condition for loans to national governments, has greatly affected how good are transported.

Session 5: Environmental activism in South Africa
Lushendrie Naidu from the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA)  gave a practical example of their work in this industrial part of Durban. Many residents suffer chronic health problems which have been linked to their closeness to the refineries. The SDCEA raises awareness in the local community by doing surveys, questionnaires, training, developing educational materials, and running community empowerment sessions. They also collect air samples for testing, as independent evidence of air pollution to hold the industry to account. The alliance is run by a former shop steward from the refinery. The SDCEA has highlighted the lack of safety training for workers in the refinery and the unregulated trucking in and out of the refinery, which has caused problems for the local community through noise, spillages on the road and vibrations in the houses, and worked to improve both of these. 

Session 6: Mobilising for alternatives
In the afternoon the seminar participants discussed ways trade unions can mobilise for alternatives. It was agreed that first we need to raise awareness and educate our members on climate change, as without support of the membership we have no power. Unions must fight for workers to be involved in decision-making on climate change; workers know their jobs best, where efficiency can be improved and what changes will make a difference.  We need to continue to research climate change and particularly the impact of climate change on jobs, to inform our organising, education and bargaining and to build alliances with other social organisations to strengthen our unions. The ITF’s role is to provide global coordination, to support our affiliates and to meet the needs of the membership.

Roger Toussaint, TWU called for trade union alternatives, change and action. He cited the political changes of the last year as evidence of something new arising (such as the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and Los Indignados). All these struggles have been different according to the local context, but bound together by a shared frustration, particularly of young people, that the people in power do not represent the majority. These young people have seen an opening and an opportunity for a new political reality, that is felt globally.  

Francisca Porchas, Los Angeles bus riders union is part of a national campaign that links demands for mass transport, civil rights and environmental justice by mobilising bus passengers in cities across the USA. They have also built alliances between passengers, drivers and mechanics to campaign on these issues. The bus riders union calls for mass investment in public transport that is accessible for the lowest income people. In addition their vision for transportation is to:

• Reduce private cars in LA
• Create bus only lanes, car free zones and bike lanes
• Double the bus fleet
• Reduce fares
• Increased access

They have organised bus riders by not just campaigning for improved bus transportation, but also by raising awareness of civil rights issues and developing class consciousness. Through the campaign, riders have taken direct action, by going on buses and not paying the fares. Initially there was a lot of resistance from the bus drivers, but the union has worked hard with them through education and now much more support. At the end of the six-month campaign, the drivers were also letting people onto the buses for free to highlight the social inequality. They are concerned that rail transport may reinforce social inequality as it is often only accessible (physically and financially) for the white middle class.

She mentioned the documentary film Freedom Riders (released in 2010) which tells the inspirational story of black and white Americans in the Deep South in 1961 who deliberately flouted laws prohibiting them from travelling together on buses and trains and ultimately managed to end segregation on bus and rail transport. The film is available to watch online.

There are other coalitions that have brought together similar groups like Keep America Moving which provides another example of how unions have built alliances to support their campaigns.

Heinz Hoegelsberger explained how in Austria Vida has formed a broad alliance with other social organisations in Austria to respond to the financial crisis. The alliance includes trade unions, environmental organisations (e.g. Greenpeace Austria and Friends of the Earth), social and church-based NGOs has developed its own “ways out of the crisis” (wege aus der krise). They have developed alternative budget proposals to show how an environmental and social justice approach can provide solutions to the economic crisis. They also campaign and mobilise workers and other members to fight for social justice, demand just and ecological tax reforms, debate the alternatives and lobby for public investment and improvements to the rail and transport system.

Vida has discussed with workers, why the trade unions should be interested in working on climate protection, and argue that as unions fight for social justice, they should also fight against climate change as it is unjust. They want to ensure there are good living conditions for members and climate change is a threat to workers’ conditions. There will be winners and losers because of climate change and unions must be there to negotiate. They also want to ensure that new green jobs are ‘good’ jobs. The alliance has helped to strengthen both types of organisations – the trade unions and the NGOs.

Dina Feller from AAA talked about how climate change has been used as an organising tool, to bring young workers into the union. Within Latin America the relationship unions have with government is different depending on the country and this affects how they can work on climate change.  In Bolivia the trade unions are involved in discussions with the government on climate change, but in Chile where all public services and utilities have been privatised (e.g. transport, water) the companies who own these resources only adopt a corporate to climate change and do not want the inclusion of trade unions in any policy-making.

Woody Arun spoke about NUMSA’s work on climate change and how it has taken time to mainstream the debate through the union, and that it will take even longer to reach the rank and file members. 11 trade unionists have been trained at a university in Cape Town to learn and understand the science of climate change. They have then run workshops for members. He highlighted one of the challenges of climate change, in that there is a lot of information about it, but it is not often accessible for workers. If workers don’t understand the basics of climate change and how they are affected, the union cannot mobilise for alternatives.

NUMSA’s position is that the renewable energy sector should be socially-owned. However, the government has not wanted to take ‘risky’ investments and so has encouraged the private sector. NUMSA fears are that if the government is not involved, the private sector will commodify  the renewable energy sector , ‘cherry-pick’ off the best contracts, reduce working conditions and pitch workers against each other. At present there is lots of ‘big talk’ from government, but no coherent policy between different departments and therefore little real outcome. For energy policy to change there must be a ‘critical mass of renewables’ and support for this emerging green sector within South Africa.

The discussion that followed the panel was varied and interesting. There were many questions but also suggestions on for action unions can take:

• Environmental justice – why is important that we make the link with justice when working on climate change? What difference will this make to our campaign as trade unionists? The new IPCC report shows that climate change will increase poverty but that also more jobs would be lost if climate change was not addressed. We need to question some of the status quos – for example, rich people fly a lot, poor people fly very little, so why is kerosene not taxed?
• Coordination – how can we coordinate action on climate change between countries, particularly for small countries and where neighbouring countries may have very different politics? How do we coordinate action within one country when there are many different unions? How do we deal with yellow unions in relation to work on climate change?
• Prioritisation – how do we make climate change a priority for our unions, particularly in developing countries where workers have low salaries, bad working conditions, and where many workers are illiterate?
• Education – how can we explain climate change to workers so that it is relevant to them and the local context? Many workers will have already seen evidence of climate change in their local areas (e.g. increased flooding) but may not have linked their local climate and to the increase global emissions. Trade unions need to explain clearly to workers adaption and mitigation policies, how decisions at COP could affect their jobs and ensure that workers have clarity around the role of government and the public sector.
• Research – we need more research on the impact of climate change policies on jobs, which jobs may become obsolete and also how workers feel about these changes.
• Alliances – why should we build alliances? There is evidence of increased results when trade unions and social organisations work together (e.g. Vida). The service delivery protests in South African can be used by unions to link workers struggles with the local community.�
• Job losses – this is a fear we will need to combat within our unions and members. This fear is often fuelled by the intensive energy users.

The seminar was concluded by Joseph Katende, ITF Africa regional secretary. He highlighted the importance of unions developing our work on climate change, but ensuring that we include and support workers on this issue, allowing them to develop their own thinking, ideas and responses to climate change.

All presentations from the seminar are available to download on the ITF climate justice website.

Thanks to LO-TCO for their support of this seminar through the ITF’s project on climate change.