Willie Docherty reminded conference about UNISON’s 2019 Power to the People report — a resource which gave practical advice for delivering a just transition in the energy sector, with green jobs and fair employment.
Since then, the sector has changed massively — with the growth of renewables, net zero targets and new skills and workforce needs.
On Monday, UNISON’s energy conference agreed this report must now be updated to reflect the current realities — including how decarbonisation is affecting workers, their skills, job security and the case for public ownership.
The speaker argued a just transition must be led by workers — so that employees in the sector benefit, rather than being left behind in the move to a low-carbon economy. UNISON must remain at the forefront of shaping this.
They also called for the union to properly explore public ownership — which conference has supported many times, but little progress has been made. They made the point clearly — it’s ridiculous if those of us who work in the energy sector aren’t at the centre of shaping the union’s energy policy.
He urged conference to support the composite.