Unions and the green transition in construction in Europe: Contrasting visions

Abstract

The construction industry, responsible for 40 percent of European Union (EU) end-use emissions, is targeted as a major area of transformation particularly through the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requiring nearly zero energy building (NZEB). Through a case study approach, union responses to EU strategy on the implementation of energy efficiency standards are evaluated in Denmark, Germany, Italy and UK (Scotland), presenting a varied picture, from minimal acknowledgement to broad support along the lines of ecological modernization to radical transformation. Radical appraisals of the industry and its exploitative and high-carbon practices are rare, though engaging with the employment and vocational education and training (VET) implications. The article presents a labour-centred alternative to a technical-driven transition agenda, focusing on how the labour process needs to change in a sector dominated by small firms, self-employment, a fragmented labour process and often low levels of VET.

The Corporate Governance of Environmental Sustainability: A Review and Proposal for More Integrated Research

“…Relatedly, Jackson, Doellgast, and Baccaro (2018) discuss how unions are building coalitions with external social actors, such as new social movements and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to jointly advocate for their causes with management and boards. An example of these alliances is the “just transition” between climate justice organizations and trade unions created in 1997 and taken up by the 2017 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the International Trade Union Confederation (Clarke & Sahin-Dikmen, 2020). Clarke and Sahin-Dikmen (2020: 405) define “just transition” as “the process of transition, be this at national, regional or company levels, to green and decent jobs in a net zero emission economy, a process managed through dialogue between governments, workers and employers.” Their study shows that the European-level “just transition” directives played out very differently for the construction industry in four European settings, ranging from minimal acknowledgement to broad support along the lines of ecological modernization to radical transformation, and this was explained by the different state-level regulations.…”

From Treadmill of Production to Just Transition and Beyond

“…Regardless of their different identities and ideological roots (Bedani, 1995; Hampton, 2015; Hyman, 2001), all three union confederations in Italy firmly refuse the alternative between labour and environment and carry out activities ranging from confrontational positions against capital, to cooperation with business aimed at promoting the three dimensions of sustainability at once. Instead of being mutually exclusive within a clearly identifiable country model and between different unions, diverse JT approaches coexist and are combined in variable manners, depending on the economic and institutional constraints involved in transitionary practices, except for the most radical positions that only some sectoral union federations embrace (Clarke and Sahin-Dikmen, 2020).…”

Climate change and industrial relations: Reflections on an emerging field

“…The power resource approach, more often applied to unions, has been shown to be therefore, at least, as relevant to understanding the impact of employer associations on climate policy and industrial relations. Moreover, as in unions, capital is not homogenous, and as financial markets, driven by investment firms (Goodman and Anderson, 2021), embrace the climate challenge, and its potential financial windfalls, workplace and organisational climate change action are likely to become a theme of employer industrial strategies. There is an urgency for the field to explore the intersection between employer association, including the role of finance capital, climate, state policymaking, and how this junction may be reshaping industrial relations.…”