Saturday, January 14, 2006

The office doesn't recycle? Take it to the union.

The BBC explores what roles trade unions can play in building a greener planet:
The trade union movement has a critical role to play in building a cleaner and more just planet, argues the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) in our new series of opinion pieces on the BBC News website entitled The Green Room.
It is a way for unions, who are under threat by an idiological pro-business, anti-environment government in Australia, to stay relevant in the face of their disempowerment.

In 2006 I don't need a union to negotiate my pay and conditions, but I would join a union if it meant they could put some pressure on my company and industry to conduct their business in a more environmentally friendly way. Work has no more claim on the environment than I do just because they pay me, and a union kind evens up the bargaining power.

At the recent AP6 climate talks the onus was put on companies to voluntarily do something about global warming. I can't see how this would work in the real word .... unless, of course, union were to hold business to account for their environmental impact.




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