Labour

Transition green jobs project: Organised labour demands social protection, sustainable jobs

THE Organised Labour, led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has demanded that stakeholders in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Just Transition for Nigeria and Nigeria Green Jobs Project should embrace the importance of a participatory and representative process of social dialogue involving all social partners to promote high employment rates, adequate social protection, labour standards and wellbeing of workers and their communities in executing the programme.

NLC General Secretary, Comrade Emma Ogboaja, who said this in his goodwill message at the formal inauguration of the Just Transition and Green Jobs Project in Abuja last week, went on to list the demands of the Nigerian working people regarding the projects.

The demands are; “That the Nigerian Just Transition and Green Jobs Project must be built on Social Dialogue. I am happy that we have the three social partners at this event – government, labour and employers. It is our hope that the significance of this social partnership resonates in the decision-making processes that shape Nigeria’s Climate Change and Green Jobs Policies including our Nationally Determined Contributions and representations at local, regional and international climate change discourses.

“The Nigerian Just Transition and Green Jobs Project must pay attention to social protection. As a developing country that is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and that is also struggling with social dislocations such as high unemployment and crime rates, it is important to broaden the social security net to ensure that the shift from fossil fuel-based economy to a green economy does not exacerbate our scourge of destitution.

“The Just Transition and Green Jobs Project should make the creation of sustainable jobs the epicenter of its policy drive. The quest is simple – for every job lost to fossil fuel, we should aim at replacing such jobs with at least four green jobs. This way we will help the ordinary Nigerian take ownership of this project.

“We demand that our government should invest in research and innovation. This will help scale existing green technologies and develop new ones. Developed countries should also be ready to share knowledge, experience, and expertise on green technology.

“Finally, at the heart of our concern as Organised Labour is that workers are trained, skilled and re-skilled to migrate from fossil fuel and emission laden employment to cleaner and greener ones.”

The NLC GS added, “We seek the support of the Nigerian government, employers and international development organisations in the ongoing drive by the Nigeria Labour Congress to sensitise workers on the need to embrace the Just Transition and Green Jobs initiatives.

“A few months ago, we collaborated with the FNV Netherlands to undertake a commissioned study on the impact of climate change and relevance of Just Transition in the oil and gas, agriculture and transportation sectors of the Nigerian economy. With additional support, we plan to extend such studies to other sectors of our economy. We are also partnering with the Federal Ministries of Environment and Agriculture on a nationwide tree planting campaign as our response to climate change.

“Ultimately, our collective aspiration should be to engender an economy-wide process that collaborates on plans, policies and investments that lead to a future where there is an abundance of green and decent jobs, where greenhouse gas emissions are at net-zero, where poverty is eradicated, and where communities are thriving and resilient.”

Furthermore, he said, “It was in Katowice Poland that world leaders cutting across the developed and developing countries in both the Global North and Global South signed the Silesia Agreement to make Just Transition the epicenter of the shift to a Green Economy.

“President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the five African leaders and 54 world leaders who signed the Silesia Agreement. The implication is that Nigeria agrees to the following commitments: To recognise and emphasise the intrinsic relationship that climate change actions, responses and impacts have on equitable access to sustainable development and poverty eradication especially for vulnerable workers with limited savings and no social safety net.

“To stress that Just Transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs are crucial to ensure an effective and inclusive transition to low greenhouse gas emission and climate resilient development and to enhance the public support for achieving the long term goals of the Paris Agreement.

“To emphasise that development measures to make infrastructure climate-resilient and enhance institutional capacity in this respect have the potential as a source of decent jobs creation for women and men while improving resilience in vulnerable communities.

“To embrace the importance of a participatory and representative process of social dialogue involving all social partners to promote high employment rates, adequate social protection, labour standards and wellbeing of workers and their communities, when developing nationally determined contributions, long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies and adaptation planning processes.”

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