Majority SAK members for tackling climate change

Members of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK)-affiliated trade unions think climate change is a serious problem that unions should be tackling actively, according to a survey conducted by the SAK.

About 69 per cent of SAK-affiliated trade union members aged between 20 and 40 years would retrain for a new career, if this was required in order to tackle the problem of climate change, said a press release.

“Even so, we cannot saddle individual employees with all of the responsibility for the workplace impact of climate change and efforts to curb it. Employers must be involved in building a pathway to new kinds of work, such as by forecasting the effects of climate measures on future job descriptions and providing opportunities for in-service retraining of employees,” said International Adviser of SAK Pia Björkbacka.

Members also feel that their unions must play a part in combating climate change and arranging the associated retraining, with 77 per cent supporting union participation in mitigation efforts and 67 per cent in favour of ecological training organised by trade unions at workplaces.

As much as 94 per cent of SAK-affiliated trade union members are keen to see practices developed at workplaces that reduce consumption of energy and materials. A clear majority of members (89 per cent) are also confident that progress in developing eco-friendly technology will bring new jobs.

The impact of environmental measures on employment was a prime concern of union members when considering claims related to climate change. Only a small majority of employees (59 per cent) were willing to accept job losses in some sectors as the price of mitigating climate change, with members working in manufacturing and transport showing the least enthusiasm for such an approach.

“SAK stresses that emission reduction measures should not only be ambitious, but also equitable. They should be prepared with due attention to employment impacts and to the security of employees during any transition period. Employee representatives must be present on all committees that decide on measures to reduce emissions,” Pia Björkbacka added.

Besides climate change, the survey of SAK-affiliated trade union members focused on union membership, the role of unions and immigration for employment.

SAK has arranged a survey every five years since 1984 studying the expectations of affiliated trade union members concerning union activities and collective bargaining. This year the survey focused particularly on members aged between 20 and 40 years.

The market research organisation Kantar TNS conducted telephone interviews with 1,216 members in March and April 2019 according to quotas determined by union size.