In December 2019, with its "European Green Deal", the Commission presented a much-discussed surcharge for a climate policy action and investment programme with the help of which Europe should arrive to be climate-neutral in 2050. In this further development of the EU, the social dialogue plays an important role to protect jobs - both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Trade unions and employee organisations must take a clear position and play an active role in shaping the process. From the point of view of the DGB, for example, "the Commission's proposal to actively shape and socially cushion structural change in the European regions" is correct. However, the DGB also expects that regions will be eligible for funding in which structural upheavals due to climate policy-related change are imminent in the future and a safety net must also be stretched for employees affected by the change, where adequate security cannot be provided nationally.
In our seminar on "The European Green Deal – risk and/or opportunity for workers through transformation", which took place from August 24th to 27th, 2022 in Arles / France, around 35 representatives of workers' organisations from Belgium, Germany, France, Bulgaria, and Romania gathered Trade Union positions on the Green Deal Impulses, concepts, points of view, status quo information in order to create options for action to create recommendations for social dialogue.
The seminar was organised by NBH (Nell-Breuning-Haus), with the support of EZA and financed by the European Union.
The most important aspects of the seminar
1. The economic imbalance in the EU countries prevents/slows down the ecological change with a social and human face.
2. The Green Deal decided by all EU countries overwhelms politicians, especially in the South-eastern European nations.
3. In the western EU nations, ecological change is happening faster because there is more capital and know-how.
4. The challenges in work and social cohesion are not really recognised in the EU Commission.
5. The dialogue between the social partners and politics is at a low point, especially in the south-eastern EU nations.
6. The social partners are responsible for shaping structural change in regions of the EU that are particularly at risk and not letting people down.
This seminar is important right now.
The European Green Deal is intended to support and accelerate the ecological restructuring of the EU countries. Above all, it shows that there is a gap and different speeds in and between the countries. In particular, the social impact on working people has not been the focus of this change so far, because jobs are already being lost where environmentally harmful industries and energy production are shut down or converted. At the same time, this conversion is linked to digitisation in all areas of life. And finally, people must also be able to afford ecological renewal, such as solar pannels, electric vehicles, and environmentally friendly heating systems. Everything relates to good social conditions for people, with the preservation and creation of jobs and good working conditions. These requests are currently in danger of not being realised.
Topics of the seminar
Daniel Freund, MEP from Brussels reports (online) on the structure and goals of the European Green Deal. The main focus is on the various legislative projects in all areas (e.g. transport, gas, oil, coal, heat, electricity, construction, agriculture), which are intended to restructure the economy so that it can benefit from this change. This brings about innovations, new technologies such as digitisation and, as a result, good jobs. It is also about many EU certifications for ecological measures in the national and EU area. An example is the end of the fossil combustion engine from 2035, for which an EU regulation already exists. All laws are about balancing lobby interests in such a way that all social classes and, above all, people are not disadvantaged.
Luciana Hutapea, VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH from Düsseldorf, reports (online) on the changes that are coming to working people as part of the Green Deal. These include, for example, the EU chemicals strategy to prevent harmful chemicals, digitised ecological local and long-distance transport, improvement of production processes, prevention of outsourcing of environmentally harmful production to non-EU areas, etc. The threat of job losses due to the reduction of environmentally harmful production and jobs and continuing education/professional training for a new activity is prevented, which then finds its place in the ecological production processes.
Ludovic Voet, ETUC lectures about a transition to an ecological world that is fair for people and about a responsible and conscious climate policy. He complains that there are winners from the climate crisis who continue to pay out high dividends and rake in excess profits. This money is then missing for wage increases and vocational training to enable people to bear the ecological change. The ETUC opposes the Green Deal measures, which are politically imposed and make people social victims of this climate policy. It is therefore important that unions demand social justice, oppose the "rigorous" implementation of the Green Deal and demand alternative routes.
Vladimir Topalov, chairman of the Bulgarian Mines Union and Evgeni Ivanov, Bulgarian Energy Workers' Union, talk about the ecological conversion of coal-fired power plants. Bulgaria was once the largest exporter of electricity to the Balkan countries. There is a large lignite basin in Bulgaria. Since many coal-fired power plants have now been closed, Bulgaria now must import electricity. Since the deadline for saving CO2 cannot be met, the EU has approved an extension here. It is a big and difficult task for Bulgaria to meet the requirements in time. When coal mines and coal-fired power plants are closed, there are many unemployed people with no prospects for the future. While CO2 pollution is falling, impoverishment is increasing, and this is not an alternative, especially since energy prices for imported electricity in Bulgaria are just as high as in the rest of the EU. Although there is now a power plant according to current ecological standards, it is in an industrial region, far from the rural areas. Bulgaria, for example, has many inland lakes. But alternative hydroelectric power generation costs a lot of money, which Bulgaria does not have. The two speakers complain about the increasing silence between the social partners. There is no longer any social dialogue. And the main blame lies with the unions.
Florin Hossu, president of the Romanian trade union CNS Cartel Alfa of the Maramures region, talks about his region, a coal region. The region has been the main driver of development thanks to coal and other mineral resources. The environment didn't matter. From 1996, mining was shut down and unemployment rose. The social descent has not stopped to this day, although compensation payments were won by the unions. The environment there is still damaged. Wastewater treatment plants built in a hurry could not free the masses of water penetrating the closed mines from the poisoning. The funds made available by the EU to control these areas have fallen into the wrong hands. The EU should present a comprehensive strategy, especially for workers: to be able to provide new jobs, for example for the preservation and protection of the environment.
Alin Muneteanu, president of the Romanian trade union CNS Cartel Alfa of the Gorj region, also a coal region. Here too, the lignite-fired power plants are being replaced by renewable energies such as geothermal energy. Due to the rapid loss of these power plants, however, the energy supply is no longer secured. And Romania now also must import electricity. This seriously jeopardises independence. Incidentally, all EU nations that generate electricity from lignite have extended the deadline for restructuring by three years. For example Spain, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic. Thus these countries will continue to generate electricity from coal until 2049. Romania is the only country to implement this restructuring but is also negotiating an extension of the deadline and binding measures to finance and safeguard jobs.
Dr Manfred Körber, head of the Nell-Breuning-Haus, Germany, reports on the structural change in the lignite region in the Rhenish lignite mining area. Around 2.1 million people live in this region, who had to leave their villages because they were lying on lignite seams. For many years there was bitter resistance from the population against this measure on the one hand and at the same time there was much protest for the end of lignite mining in this region. In 2018, the so-called “government coal commission” decided to phase out lignite by 2030. Around 15 billion euros are earmarked for the structure plan, which also includes the creation of new jobs. Since then, the language and social interaction have become more cooperative and future oriented. Today it is about the distribution of funds. For example a new solar energy park in the city of Herzogenrath will enable the glass industry to obtain clean energy. Or the “Coal Talks” taking place at the Nell-Breuning-Haus, at which politicians, companies and citizens talk about the region's social and employment future.
Two excursions round off the topic.
Visit to the organic farm "Mas de Valeriole" of the Michel family. Rice, tomatoes, wine, etc. are grown. Since the region is being burdened by increasing drought, a strict allocation of fresh water is guaranteed via a special canal system. The family has been running the farm for generations and has many employees who are socially secured and for whom environmental protection and the protection of nature are the focus of their work.
The visit and tour of the Oliver Thibaud family's "La Manade Thibaud" in the Camargue Regional Park, a traditional cattle farm, shows that ecology and animal husbandry are not opposites.
Findings/consequences/requirements/implementation/resolutions/recommendations
The following insights have matured for the organisers and participants of this seminar:
1. People who are particularly vulnerable due to their social situation must not be further burdened.
2. Trade unions must make it clearer that people are at the heart of this change and enforce this within the framework of social partnership.
3. In the western EU states, too, large parts of the population are currently socially unable to pay for environmentally friendly energy and heat sources.
4. At the same time, trade unions must increase their influence in national and EU politics to really enshrine socially acceptable working and living conditions in corresponding laws as part of the Green Deal.
5. The Green Deal must not continue to increase the social gap between Western and Eastern Europe. Especially in the south-east European EU countries, the social decline of people is increasing due to the required Green Deal processes.
6. Romania and Bulgaria feel disadvantaged and abandoned by the measures of the European Green Deal. They feel caught in an “ideological trap” by the EU, which aims to first destroy everything that is harmful to the environment (e.g., in coal-only regions) without at the same time offering help for ecological reconstruction. The people working in these destroyed industries lose their jobs and social security.
7. It is important to also recognise the opportunities offered by the Green Deal and digitisation: New jobs, a clean environment, good social conditions, for example. But for this to happen, education, training, further training, and social security must be improved nationally and across the EU in the regions particularly affected by the change.
8. The Green Deal and the world of work must not be mutually exclusive. The ecological transition is not a matter of capital, cash flow and profit.
9. The climate crisis that is already taking place, such as drought, flooding, crop failures and the war currently taking place in Ukraine, have further aggravated the situation for everyone.
10. The trade unions and the population must also have a Christian-social view of the Green Deal measures and always follow the structural change critically.
11. This status quo is also a “turning point” for trade union activities. Mutual exchange of experience and support must become more effective.