Keep The Jobs

To tackle climate change and transition to a low-carbon economy, we need to maintain good-paying union jobs across Canada.

Decent Work and Climate Action Go Together.

It is crucial to prioritize the preservation of good-paying union jobs across Canada as we confront the challenges of climate change and embark on an energy and labor transition towards a low-carbon economy. This dual approach ensures that the necessary changes to combat climate change are implemented while safeguarding the livelihoods of workers.

 

By maintaining and creating well-compensated union jobs, we can foster economic stability and social equity during the transition. Unions play a vital role in protecting workers’ rights, negotiating fair wages and benefits, and promoting safe working conditions. These protections are especially important as industries shift their work towards renewable energy sources and sustainable practices.

Furthermore, supporting union jobs helps to build a skilled and motivated workforce. Transitioning to a low-carbon economy requires significant investment in renewable energy infrastructure, energy-efficient technologies, and green manufacturing. By providing good-paying union jobs, we attract and retain highly skilled workers, driving innovation, and ensuring the successful implementation of climate solutions.

Ultimately, prioritizing good-paying union jobs alongside climate action is a win-win scenario. It allows us to address the urgent need to combat climate change while fostering economic growth, ensuring worker well-being, and promoting social justice across Canada.

WORKERS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS AGREE

We can create and keep good jobs across the country, protecting workers and the environment, by developing safer alternatives to dangerous, high-emitting, or toxic products. We know that the nature of work is changing. Workers and their communities need governments and employers to make long-term plans to ensure we have clean air, clean water, and a safe environment for us and our children. We don’t have to choose between good jobs and a healthy environment. It’s a false dichotomy.

BUY CLEAN

Governments spend billions of dollars each year on our roads, bridges, buildings, and other infrastructure.

These investments require a lot of construction materials like steel, cement and concrete, forest products, and aluminum. Buy Clean policies create opportunities to reduce carbon emissions from the production and use of these materials while supporting new and established manufacturers, workers, and communities across Canada.

Blue Green Canada released our report, BUY CLEAN: How Public Construction Dollars Can Create Jobs and Cut Pollution, to emphasize how our governments— federal, provincial, and municipal— have an opportunity to integrate climate considerations into public infrastructure spending and procurement policies in a way that rewards climate leaders and supports the low-carbon transition of Canada’s industries and economy.

(En français: ACHETER PROPRE : Créer des emplois et réduire la pollution par une utilisation judicieuse des fonds publics en construction)

BLUE GREEN COMMENTS

The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act

Bill C-50 –  An Act respecting accountability, transparency and engagement to support the creation of sustainable jobs for workers and economic growth in a net-zero economy.)

Related Articles

Blue Green Canada and allies in the legal and policy development professions have put together the following brief for the

For Immediate Release: November 15, 2022 Expectations for Canada on delivering a just transition at COP27 from Jamie Kirkpatrick, BLUE

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