Hear workers voice on climate change

Date: 24 July 2008

The AWU's 39 page response

Employees in industries at risk deserve protection with trading permits, the AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes, has written in today's Melbourne Age

TENS of thousands of Australians work in the resources and energy industries, which is why the Australian Workers' Union has been vocal in the debate triggered by the proposals put forward by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.

Some people have suggested that we are sceptical about climate change and have been prepared to drag the chain in this debate. But this is not the case. The AWU recognises that the Rudd Government was elected on a platform of tackling climate change.

In signing the Kyoto agreement soon after being elected, Kevin Rudd has made sure that our country has taken an important step to catch up to the rest of the world. The next step is to make sure that working people's voices are heard when the Government develops climate change standards, preferably standards that the rest of the world will have to follow.

Central to our response to the Government's green paper is the argument that it is essential to build carrot-and-stick partnerships with the major corporations employing our members. We accept the need to prod major employers in this country to find low-carbon solutions. But we also know that if these corporations are forced to move off-shore, they will too easily find new homes in countries that, unlike Australia, are not committed to improving their emissions standards.

The AWU believes that a pragmatic approach is needed, including making provisions for training, putting transitional arrangements for industry and workers in place, and ensuring a much stronger effort by Australia to drive international emissions standards. This country's own improved emissions standards should be conditional on global progress.

Most importantly, we are arguing that, as a matter of principle, working people's interest in this debate should be recognised in a practical way. If corporations are to get emissions trading permits, so should the workers in these industries.

This would be a way of providing "carbon insurance" for workers in emissions-intensive, global-trade-exposed industries.

As the carbon price goes up, these permits become more valuable to workers in high risk occupations.

If our companies receive non-tradeable free permits and have unused permits, or cease production and send those jobs offshore, we would insist that instead of being returned to the Government, as currently proposed, these permits pass to the affected workers.

Workers who are in the front line in the fight against climate change have a right to have a seat at the table. It is important to remember that Australia's emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries already have higher relative carbon content than our competitors and this should be recognised through insurance against the detrimental effects on workers of reducing carbon.

With these permits, workers would be able to voice their concerns that their employers continue to invest in green technology - to save not just the environment but also to ensure the future of their jobs and the health of the regional economy.

If the carbon price goes up, workers and their families face the real risk of a loss of jobs and the need to relocate. Holding these permits, which would increase in value, would provide a revenue stream to the workers that could support regional economies and pay for retraining or relocation.

Workers would have more say, not only in the creation of new green jobs, but in working with existing industries to make jobs greener and sustainable over the long term.

In substance, the AWU position is not radical. It has a firm basis in both the Garnaut Report and the Government's green paper. We believe:

• Urgent action is required on climate change, and an emissions trading system is the way forward.

• Coverage should be as broad as possible, with petrol included.

• The risk of carbon leakage is real and needs to be addressed. Emission-intensive trade-exposed industries are special cases that require a gradual approach because their competitors in other countries do not face the same carbon price they do.

A global agreement is vital if emissions trading is to make a difference over the medium and longer term.

For further information

Contact:	Paul Howes, National Secretary
Union:	AWU
WWW:	http://awu.net.au/

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