GreenWorkplaces News: March 2014

Organising

Green skills partnerships come to Plymouth

by Keith Hatch, South-West Unionlearn

In early March, union members joined council officers and local businesses from across Plymouth to find out from Unionlearn about Green Skills Partnerships (GSPs).

The seminar heard how such partnerships have developed from an original concept developed by the Apollo Alliance in the US, and have been a huge success in London boroughs such as Southwark and Lambeth.

GSPs bring together unions, employers, local councils, training providers and organisations such as Jobcentre Plus and Groundwork, to look at ways to move the green skills agenda forward and create high-quality green jobs and training in areas such as construction, horticulture and waste management.  GSPs can also explore ways to green existing jobs. Unionlearn supports and facilitates these events.

Plymouth seemed the ideal venue for this event - unions have recently formed a Plymouth City Council ULR network and found the council open to the idea of green reps and involving workers in greening the local authority. Also, the city is already well on the road to developing green strategies at a local authority level and has an existing business lead and network.

Joel Marsden and Peter Dickinson from ICF GHK, who have been evaluating Green Skills Partnerships, gave fascinating presentations on their findings and how the GSP model could be replicated across Europe, along with tips on potential funding opportunities.

Following this, attendees split into groups to discuss the potential for these partnerships locally and what challenges they faced. In general, the mood was positive and a number of ideas and connections look like they will be followed up, not only in the Plymouth area but further afield across Devon.

Richard Blakely, Unionlearn, highlighted how  GSPs have worked locally. He told the packed conference that: “Green Skills Partnerships are led by what is needed in the local area and can link up with existing networks and organisations. This event is to let people know what worked for us and how they might use the ideas in their own area.”

Keith Hatch, union support officer for South-West Unionlearn, added: “The idea of Green Skills Partnerships follows on well from our work in the region on Green Workplaces. Already we are building links and this event was a useful way to bring people together, get some ideas and think of ways they would work in the local area.”

For more in what GSP are and how they might work in your area check out Unionlearn’s GSP web pages.

Dorchster:Climate Week in Dorset highlights local action

by Keith Hatch, South-West Unionlearn

This year’s Climate Week (3 – 9 March) provided a chance to highlight how people can work together to reduce their carbon footprint, both at work and home.

Roger Bell is environment officer at UNISON’s Dorset Local Government branch. Since starting the role late last year, Roger has wasted no time getting involved in promoting energy saving and green skills. He has already linked up with South-West Unionlearn to deliver “Energy Best Deal” sessions and saw Climate Week as a way to get the word out to more council workers.

Over the week, the UNISON branch supported the corporate sustainability group and set up four lunch-time events to make workers at Dorchester County Hall aware of some of the issues that face the Dorset environment.

Roger felt the week was a great success. “On Monday, over 25 people attended a talk on ‘Our Changing Climate’ from Kim Dowsett, climate change officer from the Environment Agency,” he said. “A real cross-section of the workforce, including councillors, managers and staff, made it through a severe hail storm. A highlight was hearing the latest weather data from the Met Office and some of the solutions the agency are putting in place to address the challenges ahead.”

Tuesday’s event saw local food producers set up stalls in the council’s reception area to encourage staff to buy local and reduce food miles.

On Wednesday, staff could try out electric vehicles in the car park. The new electric pool car was on display, with one-to-one talks on its benefits and drives round the block.  Electric and non-electric pool bikes could be taken for a spin. All these vehicles can be booked by staff for work journeys.

Finally on Thursday, Wessex Water set up an information desk and gave away lots of different devices to save water around the home, including four-minute timers for timing showers, shower heads that needed less water to work by aerating the water flow and ‘hippos’ to reduce the water needed to flush the toilet.

Staff waiting to take pool bikes for a spin

Roger said: “All the drop-in events were well attended and it showed the wider workforce that climate change is happening and that practical solutions are available - if we all do our bit.”

Environment Agency cuts - Sign up against a license to pollute

Government plans to cut 1,500 Environment Agency jobs will create a license to pollute, warns UNISON.

But you can do something about it by urging your MP to sign Early Day Motion 947. If you're not sure who your MP is you can find out on the They Work for You website.

Fewer staff means a reduction in investigations, clean-ups and prosecutions and increases the risk of dangerous chemicals and pollutants finding their way into our lakes, rivers and our natural environment.

The motion warns that the cuts will expose us all to greater hazards and increased flood risk, making it harder for the agency to respond to emergencies. It will mean staff have less chance of preventing incidents from happening.

Union green networks

More unions are now building and supporting their own networks of union environmental reps. These networks are invaluable when it comes to helping green reps get to grips with this new and challenging union role.

Sometimes, taking on the role of green rep can be daunting. Many branches may have little experience of slotting environmental roles into their branch structures, or may struggle to grasp, for instance, the link between cutting emissions and saving jobs. It’s not your run-of-the-mill union work on terms and conditions. But there’s no reason why environmental issues shouldn’t form part of the collective bargaining agenda. After all, reducing resource use makes business sense as well as moral sense. 

But whatever challenges you may face in the workplace or your own branch, union green networks provide an essential and much needed mechanism for reps to share experiences, strengthen membership and promote the advantages of consulting on all things green.

In this edition of the newsletter, we kick off with the first in a series of guest articles on union green networks.  Sam Mason, from PCS, gives us a taste of their own green network and provides a report on their annual forum for green reps.

Meet the PCS green forum

by Sam Mason, PCS

In November 2013, PCS held its third annual Green Forum, “No to Austerity – Yes to One Million Climate Jobs: Why climate change is a trade union issue”.

Attended by 42 delegates, including observers from sister unions, Friends of the Earth, Frack-Off and Fuel Poverty Action, a packed agenda covered issues such as: the role of green reps, carrying out workplace environmental audits and campaigning against fracking and fuel poverty.

A wide-ranging panel discussion looked more specifically at the question of why climate change is a trade union issue and the need for one million climate jobs. PCS reps Mick Hoban from the Forestry Commission and Tahir Latif of the National Air Traffic Services spoke on issues relevant to their sectors. These were supported by enlightening presentations from colleagues from TSSA on the need for public ownership of our railways and the FBU on the impact of flooding on the fire and rescue services.

Following the "wettest winter ever", nothing could highlight better the links between climate change and trade unions, and the impact this government’s cuts are having on flood defences. 

In December 2013, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee stated that Defra “has faced among the most substantial budget cuts” and raised serious concern given the extent of issues Defra need to respond to including floods and ash die back. The department’s budget for adaptation to global warming alone was slashed by 40%.  Meanwhile the Environment Agency (EA) was set to lose 1,500 jobs in the coming months but these proposals have since been put on hold.

The flood crisis clearly shows the value of our members and the staff working in Defra and the EA, and underlines why climate change is a trade union issue. 

A copy of the PCS Green Forum report and video is available on the PCS website

Hanging out the greenwashing

by Sarah Pearce, UNISON 

Greenwash is the term given to an environmental claim that is unsubstantiated or irrelevant. It can be a superficial or insincere display of concern for the environment, sometimes to deflect attention from an organisation’s environmentally unfriendly or less savoury activities.

One of the most common complaints we hear from reps is that employers are using 'green' arguments to impose unpopular and regressive working practices. For instance, car parking charges or reducing car parking provision without consultation, and without considering either employee needs, greener alternatives such as car sharing, or public transport improvements.

Other concerns that have come to light through the TUC’s regular green reps survey include shutting down offices and cutting staff under the guise of reducing carbon footprints, or paying 'lip service' and introducing 'token measures'. For example, displaying 'token' solar panels, in reception areas that generate only a fraction of the power being used by an organisation. 

Further examples include:

·         A lack of investment in green measures, even if management are supportive of green ideas

·         Widespread redundancies while opportunities to save energy costs are ignored

·         A lack of commitment on green issues by management unless forced into action by regulations

·         A lack of any joined-up approach, such as new energy efficient measures being cancelled out by the introduction of new power hungry technology.

How you deal with these problems will vary from workplace to workplace and you can seek advice from your union. You may want to consider carrying out an impact assessment of any proposed green measure. Working closely with members and all branch reps will help to identify impacts at an early stage and ensure that environmental concerns are not at odds with other employee interests. For example, green travel plans can offer a range of benefits but may have implications for shift workers and for other terms and conditions of employment. Imposing additional charges for car parking or removing car parks could have a financial consequence for staff.

Greenwash can sabotage a union's environmental campaign. It's vital that unions are able to negotiate and lobby for effective environmental measures and communicate the facts to staff, not the fiction. The following actions can help:

·         Keeping up to date with the latest changes in environmental policies at www.netregs.org.uk

·         Asking other reps for help and logging onto the bulletin boards at www.unionreps.org.uk. where other reps may be able to offer online advice

·         Working closely with health and safety reps. Some environmental issues are covered by health and safety law in the UK.

·         Keeping union members up to date with any contentious issues. Management need to know that environmental change stands a better chance of winning the support of staff, if staff are fully consulted through their recognised trade union. Involving staff at all levels, makes the most of worker expertise and can highlight implications that may have been overlooked.

If you’ve come across examples of greenwash in your role as a union green rep and can share  good advice on how to deal with it. Let us know.

Policy

New firefighters and the floods: magnificent response but problems underlined

by Paul Hampton, Fire Brigades’ Union

The recent floods saw the biggest fire and rescue service mobilisation since the Second World War, with firefighters involved in huge numbers of rescues, wide-scale evacuations and deployment of high volume pumps.

But Fire Brigades Union members also reported that serious budget restrictions caused by cuts in central funding had created problems such as equipment shortages and inadequate training.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Firefighters did a fantastic job in the floods, saving lives and reducing damage done to homes and businesses, and are always proud to serve their communities during difficult times.

“But a very troubling picture is emerging of understaffed operations, badly equipped firefighters and inadequate training severely hampering their work and creating greater risk for firefighters and the public.”

He added: “Although there has been improvement in equipment after firefighters raised concerns during the 2007 floods, it seems our calls for better preparation and support have not yet been adequately addressed, with NOT not been adequately addressed, with unprecedented cuts severely jeopardising our ability to cope with the floods effectively.

“Firefighters are keen and proud to do this work but they have the right to expect the best levels of training, equipment and resources. That was promised after 2007 but has not been delivered and the situation is getting significantly worse due to the huge cuts the government has made to fire service budgets.”

The union said 20 brigades were sent into Devon and Somerset and a further 16 crews deployed to support fire-fighters in Berkshire.

The FBU investigation found:

• Large numbers of firefighters attending floods in protective equipment designed for dealing with fires, rather than water
• A shortage of specialist fire service vehicles capable of driving through high water levels
• A lack of sufficient dry suits, meaning replacement crews had no immediate access to this equipment, restricting their ability to respond
• Poor quality dry suits and other equipment
• A lack of replacements for equipment damaged during use
• Widespread problems relating to health and welfare, with firefighters being affected by suspected waterborne infections and sickness
• The deployment of ageing or deteriorating boats.

Problems with training were also reported, with firefighters saying that specialist water training, for example on using boats, had been significantly reduced because of budget restrictions.

Defending flood defenders

by Sue Ferns, Prospect

The Environment Agency has rarely been out of the news since the severe weather at the turn of the year. The prime minister praised the agency’s staff for their work following the most serious tidal surge in 60 years on 5 December, which generated 160,000 warnings to homes and businesses and the evacuation of 18,000 people. This was followed by the wettest January in the south since records began. Previously, Defra’s UK Climate Change Risk Assessment for 2012 had concluded that “Increased flooding risk is the greatest threat to the UK from a warmer world. The risks of flooding are predicted to significantly increase across the UK.”

Subsequently, the weather became an intensely political issue, characterised by competing claims over the agency’s performance, funding and staff resources. The reality is that, in 2010, investment in flood defences in England and Wales was cut from £354 million to £259 million a year for the four-year Spending Review period. The Environment Agency is currently faced with cutting 1,500 of its staff.

The cuts demanded are so deep that major restructuring will be required, with potential ramifications for everything from flooding to waste-related crime.

More than 550 jobs in flooding are at risk, with the agency’s chief executive acknowledging that “Flood risk maintenance will be [further] impacted” and “work on mapping and modelling and new developments in things like flood warning will also have to be resized”. The story is simple: revenue cuts are making it harder to cover the ground and respond effectively at the same time as the weather is becoming more unpredictable.

Prospect has called on the Government to:

1. Implement a moratorium on all EA job cuts pending a review to ensure the lessons of this winter are learned.
2. Double investment in flood defences by 2035.
3. Commit to the strategy on flood and coastal risk management first published by the Environment Agency in 2009.
4. Ensure cross-government resources and expertise are deployed and build on existing good practice such as the Flood Forecasting Centre.
5. Better coordinate statements so that all those affected are clear about the strategy and immediate priorities and resist the political temptation to scapegoat the staff of the Environment Agency.

While the prime minister has promised that “money is no object” when it comes to repairing flood damage, he has not turned his attention to the need for investment to prevent further crises.

Fracking: Chevron hands out pizza coupons to fracking victims

by Philip Pearson

One hundred residents of a tiny Pennsylvania town where a fracking well exploded last month into a spectacular and deadly tower of flame, killing one person and burning for five days, have received an apology in the form of a pizza coupon.

Chevron Appalachia Community Outreach sent the residents of Bobtown a certificate that entitles them to a large pie –‘Special Combo Only’ - at their local pizza outlet. The accompanying letter, dated 16 February, assures residents of the $250 billion company’s dedication to safety. The gift certificate also offers 2 litres of soda for free. It said:

“Chevron recognizes the effect this has had on the community. We are committed to taking action to safeguard our neighbors, our employees, our contractors and the environment.”

The intense fire posed “incredible risk to the workers who eventually put it out after days,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

At the time of writing (February 2014), a missing worker, believed to be a contractor from the Chevron Appalachia site, had not been found and was presumed dead. The well pad has three natural gas wells. Nineteen workers were on the well pad during the explosion, a spokesman said. “Preparations were being made to run tubing, which is often done prior to bringing wells into production.” It’s reported that there was no drilling or hydraulic fracturing at the time, he said.

Nearby residents reported a loud boom and felt the earth shake prior to the explosion. “The house just sort of shook and there was a big loud bang,” resident John Kuis, 57, told the Post-Gazette of the moments leading up to the explosion. Another neighbor described the sound as like a “jet engine.”

Wild Well Control, an organisation trained specifically to deal with natural gas explosions, was called to the site. Investigators finally gained access to inspect the well pad for the missing employee eight days after the blast when they were able to pull a charred crane off the well pad that was nearest to the still-leaking wells. That came after Wild Well finished installing a fire suppression system to constantly douse the well heads, helping to keep the natural gas from building up on site and minimizing the potential for a further explosion. The company also installed tube “diverters” onto the two leaking well heads to direct the natural gas away from the well pad. Wild Well then has to stage all the necessary equipment before the well heads can be capped, a process that could take at least another two days.

As of 19 February: “Barring some really unforeseen circumstance, we should be able to get the wells capped by this weekend,” according to the deputy secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection in charge of the state’s oil and gas management. He was on the well site every day because of the severity of the incident.

Lower carbon than coal?

Data from a number of studies have drawn attention to the methane escaping from drilling sites known as ‘fugitive methane’. There is now considerable evidence to suggest that, from a climate change perspective, burning shale gas may be no better than burning coal and may in fact be worse.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global warming potential of methane is 34 times stronger as a heat-trapping gas per molecule than CO₂ over a 100-year time scale. Recent studies suggest that methane leakage rates from shale gas drilling have been seriously underestimated.

Events

TUC Green reps conference:

“Greening the Workplace – the union effect”

Date: 11 July 2014

Venue: Congress House, London.

Programme:

10.00 Welcome & introductions: Sue Ferns, Director of Research & Communications, Prospect/TUC General Council lead on the enviornment

10.10 – 10.20 Paul Nowak, Assistant General Secretary, TUC: The union effect and rights for environmental reps

10.20-10.40 Tom Greatrex, DECC shadow energy Minister

10.40- 11.00 Q&A

11.00 –11.15 Tea break

11.15-12.45

Workshop A: The “union effect”

Chair: Lionel Fulton - Briefing on LRD report on the “union effect” research.

Commentaries from employers and union reps.

Workshop B: Building a green reps network in your union

Chair: Sarah Pearce, editor, TUC GreenWorkplaces newsletter.

Union networks speakers from: Prospect, PCS, UCU and GMB.

12.45 -13.15 Conference wrap up and next steps for Green Reps

13.15 - Lunch