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8 December, 2005IMF-affiliated United Steelworkers has pledged a campaign with other US unions to persuade the American Government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
CANADA: Speaking at a United Nations Climate Change Conference news briefing in Montreal yesterday, December 7, USW Vice-President Jim Pannell said: "Failure to ratify Kyoto puts US workers at a massive disadvantage. We will work with trade unions from the United States and the rest of the world to help build support for the Kyoto Protocol."
Also at the Conference, Marcelos Temistocles of the Brazilian trade union confederation CUT reiterated the need for targets to cut greenhouse gases. Marcelos called for strong future targets for industrialized countries, but underlined that developing countries also had to join greenhouse gas reduction schemes. "We recognize the impact of climate change on jobs but it is necessary to address the problem though concrete employment and social transition measures", he said.
The trade union delegation at the meeting has engaged in a country-by-country lobby highlighting the importance for governments to recognize the role of worker participation in specific Kyoto implementation mechanisms.
Unions are encouraging governments to create national frameworks for social dialogue and consensus building, to promote just employment and social transition planning. A key demand is joint trade union - employer plans to cut CO2 emissions at the work place level.
Note: The IMF Action Programme, section 1.5, says that "All countries in the world should implement policies that would contribute to making the goals of the Kyoto Climate Protocol a reality."
Also at the Conference, Marcelos Temistocles of the Brazilian trade union confederation CUT reiterated the need for targets to cut greenhouse gases. Marcelos called for strong future targets for industrialized countries, but underlined that developing countries also had to join greenhouse gas reduction schemes. "We recognize the impact of climate change on jobs but it is necessary to address the problem though concrete employment and social transition measures", he said.
The trade union delegation at the meeting has engaged in a country-by-country lobby highlighting the importance for governments to recognize the role of worker participation in specific Kyoto implementation mechanisms.
Unions are encouraging governments to create national frameworks for social dialogue and consensus building, to promote just employment and social transition planning. A key demand is joint trade union - employer plans to cut CO2 emissions at the work place level.
Note: The IMF Action Programme, section 1.5, says that "All countries in the world should implement policies that would contribute to making the goals of the Kyoto Climate Protocol a reality."