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Green jobs must also be decent jobs, says ITF rep
13 November 2008
Trade unions must be involved in the development of sustainable transport policies so that decent jobs can be secured, the ITF told delegates at a conference in Italy recently.
Ed Watt, Secretary-Treasurer of the Local 100 branch of the US ITF-affiliated Transport Workers’ Union, represented the ITF at the conference on 24-25 October, organised by the International Association of Public Transport – known as UITP. The event, which took place in Milan, Italy, addressed issues around sustainable development. Watt said sustainable transport policies could usher in economic and social sustainability, but that market solutions alone could not be relied on. Trade unions, he said, “need to have a place at the table.”
Public transport was twice as fuel efficient as private vehicles and other forms of transport, he told participants. As a result it was “only a matter of time before public transport is adopted as a primary component in any global effort to reverse climate change.”
He said: “This ‘greening of the economy’ will inevitably create jobs in the transportation sector, as they majority of transportation jobs are already found in road transport. However, the creation of a “green job” by virtue of its sector does not make it a decent job. Going green is not just measured by carbon footprint; it is also about improving conditions and opportunities for working people around the world.”
“This underlies the importance of having unions at the table from the beginning. Trade unions need to define the issues and help shape their outcomes,” he concluded.
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