CESI calls for a fair green transition for workers

In a consultation statement for the European Commission, CESI:

• notes that social disruptions due to a badly managed transition might severely undermine the ability of the European Green Deal, especially when its adverse impacts are not shared evenly across geographies or sectors, with concentrations of people and communities advantaged and disadvantaged by the transitions with ever increasing inequalities.
• welcomes in this respect the European Commission’s initiative to address social and labour aspects of the just transition towards climate neutrality, as part of its European Green Deal.
• agrees with the dimensions of the initiative which the European Commission proposes in its roadmap to address social and labour aspects of the just transition towards climate neutrality: designing comprehensive policy packages for a just and sustainable green transition, promoting inclusive participation of workers, and making optimal use of public and private funding.
• stresses that unfortunately, a Council Recommendation, as is envisaged by the European Commission, is insufficient to achieve socially fair and sustainable green transitions for workers. Experience has shown that Member States implement (or not) non-binding Recommendations at goodwill. CESI questions the impact that a Recommendation will have.
• emphasises that a more holistic approach and streamlining across EU legislation would instead be necessary, comprising, most notably: (1) further reviewing EU legislation with the aim to better enforce existing legislation and identify legislative gaps to close and make labour markets and working conditions fairer and fit for the green age, (2) further measures for a strengthened participation of workers and their representatives in change management, (3) more emphasis in the EU macroeconomic governance system and in EU funding tools, e.g. through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Just Transition Fund European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, to ensure that the necessary resources and infrastructure are provided to give to the at-risk jobs of today a future.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “In the context of green and climate change mitigation policies, social targets risk to fall victim to allegedly necessary measures to stay ‘economically competitive’ and not ‘overburden’ businesses and employers. As the EU agrees to set concrete targets to become climate neutral, it should set equally ambitious targets for social fairness, decent work and equal opportunities in a world which is more and more digital. In analogy to the EU’s prospective ‘European Green Deal’ for climate neutrality, a tangible ‘European Social Deal’ should be placed in the centre of the EU’s activities in the years to come, beyond the European Pillar of Social Rights.”

The full statement is available here.