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In April 2007, UNEP and the International Labour Foundation for Sustainable Development (Sustainlabour), in partnership with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and its affiliates, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Health Organization (WHO), launched a two-year project on “Strengthening trade union participation in international environmental processes”, with the financial support of the government of Spain.
It aims to improve engagement of workers and trade unions in the development and implementation of environmental policy, at UNEP (including its GC/GMEF), MEAs and other UN bodies. It is currently implemented in four regions, namely Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The project focuses on:
- Capacity building, with a view to increasing participation of workers and trade unions in international environmental. A particular emphasis was put on climate change, as well as sound and sustainable management of chemicals;
- Adaptation and replication of selected trade union initiatives; and
- Awareness raising among workers on environmental issues and the link between environmental sustainability and labour/human rights, including occupational health and safety.
Building a network of Climate change and Chemicals experts among trade unions, integrating labour aspects in the design and implementation of international environmental strategies
The project will provide grounds for multi-stakeholders dialogue and lay the foundations for a conceptual framework on the inter-linkages between labour and the environment. It intends to contribute to the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the first Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment (15-17 January 2006)
The overall objective is to (i) strengthen the Climate change and Chemicals network of experts among trade unions in the regions and globally, and (ii) improve trade unions’ expertise, their representation in international environmental processes, and their contribution to drafting and implementing international environmental strategies that take into account labour aspects, with a view to sustainable development. The capacity building / training component emphasizes in particular (i) the link between environmental sustainability and fundamental labour/human rights, including occupational health and safety, (ii) trade union experiences in the fields of Climate Change and Chemicals, and (iii) the way forward for effective trade union action globally, aimed at mitigating potential risks and benefiting from potential opportunities for workers.
It is jointly implemented with workers and trade unions in order to build greater ownership of the programme and guarantee sustainability in the longer term. They are indeed the primary target stakeholders group. These include trade unions organized by country, sector or thematic area, and members of the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD and their affiliates, and the Sustainlabour Foundation. At UNEP level, the project is coordinated by the Major Groups and Stakeholders Branch – Division of Regional Cooperation (DRC) of UNEP, and benefits from the support and expertise of the Regional Offices and other divisions.
The project will result in the creation of regional working groups that will be able to provide input to a variety of further activities and disseminate knowledge among trade unions in their respective regions.
Increased expertise of trade unions and substantive contributions to international environmental processes
Achievements and outputs since inception of the project include:
- Training sessions and manuals on (i) Climate Change, its consequences on employment and trade union action, and on (ii) Sound and Sustainable Management of Chemicals (training manuals and other documents available in four UN languages, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
The capacity building component of the project revolves around a series of training sessions, at the global and regional levels. These training sessions are unique opportunities to enhance knowledge on Climate Change, and Sound and Sustainable Management of Chemicals among trade unions, as well as to have trade union representatives from different regions meet and develop coordinated strategies on these issues in the future. To date, trade union representatives from four regions, namely Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean, have already attended the global “Training of trainers on Climate change and Sound and sustainable management of chemicals in Geneva from 26 to 30 May 2008”.
- Review and replication of trade union experiences: an extensive survey was conducted to identify and collect existing practices and literature on labour and the environment within trade unions’ organizations. Selected experiences will be replicated or adapted to different regions/countries/workplaces.
- Participation of workers and trade unions to international environmental meetings, including UNEP’s Global Civil Society Forum (GCSF). Trade union delegates are sponsored to attend meetings/conferences/fora, where they can make substantive contributions and statements. The statements and position papers so far attest of an increased understanding and knowledge of environmental issues and their interlinkages with and impacts on employment.
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