Creating jobs without damaging the environment was the only way to guarantee workers’ livelihoods, a conference in Johannesburg heard on Friday.
”We will be happy when we could see more and more workers convinced that [the environment] is not something for others to take care of, that it is also our task and responsibility to promote a new kind of development respectful to environment and workers,” said Laura Martin-Murilla from the SustainLabour
Foundation.
About 80 trade union leaders from 22 African countries were meeting with environmentalists for a two-day conference to examine connections between poverty and environmental damage and how these affected workers.
”The protection of the environment is not a barrier to economic development … the extension of labour rights [is] not a barrier to economic development,” said Laura Martin-Murilla from the SustainLabour Foundation.
A Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) official said the issues concerning the environment had long been misunderstood, with environmentalists pushing their own agenda while trade unions defended jobs.
”We will be happy if we manage to include [recognition of workers’ needs] where decisions about the environment are taken,” Cosatu deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said.
Thabo Ndlovu from the office of the Gauteng minister for agriculture, conservation and environment unveiled aspects of the Gauteng Strategy for Sustainable Development (GSSD), the first draft of which would be finished on Monday.
He noted that historically, policy had focused on economic growth and social equity rather than the implementation of sustainable development, at the expense of the environment.
”It has become imperative that we look at governance issues in relation to sustainable development. What is government’s role in driving the sustainable development agenda?”
Ndlovu said the primary focus of the GSSD would be resource management.
Andrew Kailembo, general secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions’ African Regional Organisation, explained some of the links between labour and the environment. He said most working environments in Africa were a cause for concern, with precarious conditions in factories in emerging countries.
”Other sectors such as mining and petroleum oil extraction are equally a great concern, not only to the health of workers but the environment surrounding such operations.
”The problem of heat, vibration, radiation, smoke, fumes, dust, poisonous gases, radioactive substances … poor ventilation and … lack of access to adequate toilet facilities and drinking water, is on the increase in industries and factories,” said Kailembo.
He said integrating trade union action within sustainable development was a challenge requiring effective partnership.
A working group on climate change said Africa was particularly vulnerable to climate change. Adapting to global climate change was essential, requiring the participation of trade unions and civil society, it found.
In Johannesburg the legacy of mining had left dust pollution within townships and polluted groundwater, said Flora Mokgohola from the city of Johannesburg. The city, which was consumption-driven and did not produce its own water and electricity, faced waste management problems.
One of the biggest landfills in the northern suburbs was closing next month and an alternative site had yet to be found. She said labour had a role to play in finding solutions for these problems. – Sapa