‘We represent all workers’

The trade union movement asserted its commitment to developing an active energy and climate change strategy, but Congress agreed that this must not happen at the expense of jobs nor can any strategy pit worker against worker.

A wide-ranging debate at the TUC conference yesterday (September 12) considered motion 11, which welcomed the recognition of the Paris Agreement of 1.5 degrees’ rise as a safe limit and the role of fossil fuels in climate change, but regretted its failure to deliver the binding legal commitments necessary to achieve this or any safe containment, including any immediate action on fossil fuels.

But Unite and others opposed the motion, mainly because it called for a halt to Heathrow airport expansion and the promotion of an alternative to short-haul flights, as well as a quick break away from the use of fossil fuels — all measures that opposing unions believed attacked workers in industries such as aviation and rejected the sort of balanced energy policy that’s crucial for the UK’s energy security.

The motion eventually fell.

“Like the movers of this motion, Unite supports action on climate change, but we cannot support wording that attacks workers, that attacks union members,” argued Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland, speaking against the motion.

Holland noted that Unite together with the TUC already had a robust climate change policy which supports public ownership of rail and environmental reps, and represents workers in the renewables sector.

“Our transport negotiators prioritise cutting emissions,” Holland pointed out. “We are part of the coalition to end fuel poverty and part of TUC action on sustainable development and greener workplaces.”

But there are two key issues she said that Unite could not support, including an attack on the aviation industry.

She explained that Heathrow expansion was vital in ensuring that the airport retains its hub status — and, using the example of an airport in Copenhagen, she noted that such expansion can be done in an environmentally friendly way.

The second issue, Holland noted, was “energy mix and the security of supply.”

“Unite supports investment in renewable energy and condemns government cuts, but we also support a balanced energy policy that provides security of energy supply, including Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and nuclear power,” she said.

These, she said, will not adversely impact the atmosphere while still allowing the UK to maintain an independent energy supply.

Holland urged Congress to oppose the motion, not because “you’re against tackling climate change or supporting renewables” but “because we, as trade unionists, want to represent all workers, which this motion fails to do.”

Find out more about Unite’s climate change policy here.