IndustriAll Europe on the Climate Law

IndustriAll expressed its support for the EU’s plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and put forward key requirements to be fulfilled. Accordingly, trade unions expect a Just Transition to climate neutrality that leaves no worker and no region behind, and a European industrial strategy that ensures a strong and viable European manufacturing industry. This must include energy-intensive industries and the 5.3 million jobs they support in the EU and regional economies. IndustriAll Europe has developed policy demands for a social and sustainable recovery and insisted on the need for sectoral strategies. It called for in-depth sectoral impact assessments “to avoid unrealistic climate objectives that would undermine the EU industrial basis”. IndustriAll Europe demands to set up sectoral roadmaps for what it developed detailed policy proposals, such as automotive, aerospace, maritime technology and steel. 

IndustriAll Europe on  ‘A Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy for Europe’

IndustriAll Europe welcomed the objective to make EU transport fit for the digital and zero emission economy.  Luc Triangle, IndustriAll Europe General Secretary stated: “To ensure that European industrial value chains will be the backbone of the transformation of EU transport, the EU mobility strategy must go hand in hand with strengthening the EU industrial base. This is also the right moment to demonstrate that ‘strategic autonomy’ is more than an EU fad”.

Pragmatic use of the EU recovery and EU budget will be essential as well as a policy framework. Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary added: “We fully support the transformation of our transport system, but timing matters and decarbonisation cannot mean deindustrialisation!”

ETF Europe on the Mobility strategy

The ETF welcomed that the Strategy calls transport workers ‘the sector’s most valuable asset’, but pointed to the their harsh working conditions and lack of enforcement of labour regulations.

The union's detailed comments and proposals address specific issues on labour standards by sub-sector, such as cross-border issues, posting of workers and social dumping prevention.

The ETF advocates green and social transport, stressing that greening the transport sector and especially road freight must be accompanied by strong social measures as there is an undeniable link between social and environmental sustainability. Road transport is cheap, mainly due to social dumping practices, and because it is cheap, road transport continues to grow fast leaving little chance to other modes.

Woodworking industry social partners on the `Renovation Wave` strategy, a key element of the European Green Deal

Joint position paper of social partners emphasizes that wood-based solutions offer a construction material that is renewable, recyclable and has a low fossil carbon footprint. They welcome:

  • The ambition to create up to 160.000 additional decent green jobs by 2030;
  • The use of renovation as a lever to address energy poverty;
  • The elaboration of a 2050 roadmap for reducing whole life-cycle carbon emissions in buildings;
  • The possible development of green public procurement criteria for public buildings;
  • Establishing a well-functioning internal market for secondary raw materials;
  • Prioritising building renovation in the national recovery plans under the European Flagship `Renovate`;
  • To introduce `deep renovation` standard to enhance private financing.

Social partners in the sector stress that the renovation principles set up in the Strategy should now be implemented through the National Energy & Climate Plans and Long-Term Renovation Strategies to take an important step forward in the achievement of the objectives of the European Green Deal.

EFBWW on the European Green Deal

The European building and wood-workers union demand that since the environmental ambitions set in the European Green Deal will heavily impact workers in its industries, trade unions at all decision making levels need to be consulted on the design and implementation of related economic, employment and social policies.

The union stresses that in the context of just transition, workers should have a right to retraining and/or mediation towards other jobs or industries. A basic digital and environmental training should be guaranteed to all workers.

Special attention should be paid to the health and safety of workers, especially regarding new manufacturing systems, toxicity, resource processing methods, work with new (raw) materials and waste.

The shift to the circular economy should not pose social justice problems for workers, in particular for micro and small enterprises.

Further specifications are needed on how money from the Just Transition Mechanism will be distributed among different sectors and regions.

The EFBWW demands that the EU should step up its efforts to eradicate energy poverty, ensuring that affordable renewable energy is available to low-income and poor end-users in buildings.

The current system of emission allowances for energy-intensive industries should be evaluated. The EFBWW considers that the core objective of any proposal should be that an importer to the EU market faces the same CO2 costs as an EU domestic producer.

Photo credits photo beto