What opportunities do trade unions have to implement sustainable practices?

At a time when sustainable transition is becoming a central political, economic and social issue, the role of workers' trade unions in this process is often overlooked. A new academic publication in Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy provides the first quantitative assessment of the opportunities - the 'affordances' - that trade unions in Europe have to engage in sustainability. The authors of the study, Dr Kaja Primc, Dr Darja Zabavnik, Dr Renata Slabe-Erker (all from the Institute for Economic Research), Assistant Professor Dr Branko Bembič and Professor Dr Urša Golob Podnar (both from FDV), have developed an index that measures the potential of trade unions to act in a sustainable way along three dimensions: the environmental commitment of members, the social inclusion of vulnerable groups, and the institutional strength of trade unions.

The survey results show marked differences between European countries. While trade unions in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Portugal and Norway are well placed to promote a sustainable transition, the situation in the former transition countries and the UK is significantly weaker. In these environments, trade unions often lack institutional support, access to decision-making mechanisms and wider social recognition.

The importance of the research goes beyond the narrow confines of trade union action. The findings highlight that strong and inclusive trade unions can make an important contribution to a just green transition - thereby affecting job quality, job security and fairness in burden-sharing for non-union members. 

The article Can trade unions in Europe afford to act sustainably was written in the framework of the fundamental research project Trade Unions and the Sustainable Transition: expectations and paradoxes (project leader is Prof. Dr. Urša Golob from the Faculty of Social Sciences).  

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The study addresses the key issue of the social and environmental dimensions of the sustainable transition and highlights the importance of systemic conditions that enable or constrain the contribution of trade unions to building a more inclusive and just sustainable future. In doing so, the research contributes directly to Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Photo: ScAIentist, izobraževanje in znanstveno raziskovanje, d.o.o