Green Unions at Work Sarah Pearce UNISON – The Public Service Union (former TUC ‘GreenWorkplaces’ Project Leader)

Political Backdrop

Cuts, cuts and more cuts...

Greening the workplace

• Aims

– Making the workplace a focus of climate action and reducing its environmental impact.

– Providing training to union environmental reps. – Supporting unions to work on a key business goal:

cutting carbon. – Extending the consultation agenda to include a

new bargaining issue: climate change.

• Green fairs and events • Surveys and quizzes • Bespoke training • Negotiations

Key activities

Collective bargaining

Union green action 2009 - 2012

(Labour Research Dept., 2009, 2012)

34% 34%

24%

17%15%

6%8%

3% 3%n/a

Greennewsletter

Green day Green survey Green audit DVD/ filmshowing

20122009

Collective bargaining on green issues

(Labour Research Dept., 2009, 2012)

46%

28%

15%16%

6%

11%

joint management-unionshealth and safety

committees

joint management-unionsenvironment committees

joint working party onenvironment/climate change

20122009

PresenterPresentation Notesover a quarter of the workplaces surveyed (312 organisations; 26%) there are management/union discussions on the environment/climate change.

Supported by the Welsh 1st Minister and UNITE the union

Lessons learned and best practice

• Employers and governments must see unions as part of the solution.

• Give unions green rights and powers to negotiate to push for change.

“I’d like to see this happening in every

organisation” (trainee ‘green’ rep, National Library of Scotland)

Any questions?

sarah.pearce@unison.co.uk Check out: tuc.org.uk/greenworkplaces

Slide Number 1Political BackdropCuts, cuts and more cuts...Greening the workplaceKey activitiesCollective bargainingSlide Number 7Union green action 2009 - 2012Collective bargaining on green issuesSlide Number 10Slide Number 11Slide Number 12Lessons learned and best practiceSlide Number 14