*As ILO pledges continued support to build trade union capacity for driving a just transition
By Michael Oche
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for an urgent review of the process leading to the development of Nigeria’s Just Transition Guidelines, insisting that the concerns of workers must be fully reflected in the country’s climate policies.
Speaking at the opening session of 3-day NLC Post-COP 29 Review Meeting in Abuja, the General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, criticised the exclusion of trade unions from the initial stages of the Just Transition process.
Ugboaja who was represented by Deputy General Secretary, Comrade Ismail Bello, described the omission as a major oversight, given that the Just Transition concept itself originated from the labour movement.
“The truth is that we cannot be complaining of climate injustice at the global arena and be perpetuating the same at the national level through the shutting out of critical voices in the development of national climate change policies for our country,” he said.
Adding that, “Just Transition is a working-class idea. It is only commonsensical that trade unions should be made to have a sense of belonging as a key stakeholder, and that Decent Work should be prioritised as a key pillar of the Guidelines,” Ugboaja stated.
He emphasised that climate change is not only an environmental or economic issue but also a workplace issue, arguing that workers are on the frontlines of both emissions and impacts.
“Climate change is a workplace phenomenon as most of the emissions happen in the workplace and around the corridors of work. Workers are also at the frontlines of climate change impact and ruin. This means that workers through their trade unions must be around the driving seat of climate change policy formulations and actions at all levels as climate change and associated response measures toll heavily on workers. Anything contrary would be an adventure in ghost chasing and grand greenwashing,” he said.
The NLC also demanded that the voices of other marginalised groups, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities, be mainstreamed in the policy development process.
Ugboaja noted that one of the lessons learnt from the COP 29, Nigeria and other countries in the global South must start by looking inwards and take bold initiatives wherever we can to take charge of our climate governance destiny.
“This means that political leaders in the Global South must embrace green growth industrial policies and brace ourselves for what is coming down in the arena of global geo-political politics as the survival of the greenest,” he said.
He said further, “as we review the outcome of the COP 29 negotiations, countries of the Global South through their climate institutions both at regional and national levels should review their approach as negotiating parties to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
“Some have suggested calling the bluff of the Global North and abdicating cooperation on tacking the climate emergency. I do not think that would be the best approach because at the end of the day, we all still have the same sky as a roof over all of us. I suggest that we should start by looking inwards and take bold initiatives wherever we can to take charge of our climate governance destiny.”
Meanwhile, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has pledged its support to strengthen the capacity of trade unions in advancing a just transition and green jobs.
Speaking at the meeting, Inviolata Chinyangarara, Senior Specialist for Workers’ Activities at the ILO Country Office in Abuja, reaffirmed the commitment of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) to support initiatives aimed at positioning workers at the centre of climate change policies.
She stressed that for trade unions to play an effective role in the just transition, they must build their capacities to navigate the changing dynamics in the labour market, adapt to new challenges, and strategically influence policymaking processes.
She said, “For Trade Unions to play an effective part in this just transition, including ongoing process for reviewing the NDCs, they need to place themselves in a better position to address its challenges and opportunities. Building trade unions’ capacity to navigate uncertainty and change, adapting to changing dynamics in the labour markets and changing needs of workers, and positioning themselves strategically for the future is crucial.”
She said further, “The voice of workers and their trade unions need to be at the centre of just transition and green jobs policy dialogue. It is, therefore, crucial for trade unions to build requisite capacities to influence policy makers to develop and consider integrated policy systems and ensure policy coherence – on how climate and employment goals must go hand in hand.”
She noted that the workshop was timely, building on the earlier work of the NLC, including the development of a Trade Union Position Paper on Climate Change and Just Transition in 2024, which was supported by the ILO.
Chinyangarara expressed hope that the outcomes of the workshop would further strengthen the NLC’s engagement with stakeholders and ensure that workers’ concerns are fully integrated into Nigeria’s ongoing review of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
