
Social dialogue is a key to a successful just transition
Friday, 13 July 2018
Shoya Yoshida, General Secretary of the ITUC-AP, spoke on “Just Transition of Workforce and Creation of Decent Work and Quality
Jobs: Opportunity and Challenges” during the Asia - Pacific Climate Week held in Singapore from 10 -
13 July 2018.
“Social dialogue is a key to a successful
just transition. Workers are ready to be better prepared to address the
transformation to the green, new economy. To this end, they must be provided an
opportunity to upgrade their skills” said the General Secretary. “In Asian and
Pacific, we must create a stable climate for social partners to operate without
fears of reprisal in comply with Conventions No. 87 and No. 98 of the ILO.”
Stronger cooperation is needed. Through social dialogue, concluding agreements of the implementation of economic, social
and environmental policies, including with a view to achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals must be considered. The ITUC calls on all pension funds
to demand the companies they invest in to present plans consistent with the
Paris Agreement for a Just Transition, including job protection and, where
necessary, re-skilling and redeployment measures.
The General Secretary continued, “COP24
Katowice should be a reminder to ensure that all stakeholders are committed to:
- Gather and evaluate experience in supporting workers, communities and regions
in transition towards a low-carbon economy;
- Provide guidance to Parties on how to
promote Just Transition, decent work and quality jobs;
- Ensure the commitment of the Parties to
Just Transition, decent work and quality jobs is reflected throughout the
modalities, policies and requirements of the Parties activities under the
Convention, including mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation;
- Provide finance to support projects aimed
at developing low-carbon and sustainable economic activities that will create
quality jobs in regions affected by transition to a low-carbon economy;
- Make the work coherent with SDGs; and
- Involve all parties, UNFCCC, ILO, and all other stakeholders in the
implementation of this Just Transition and Decent Work Declaration.