Working-Class Environmentalism

This thematic chapter connects the ever-present “social question” (struggles on remuneration and hours of work, exploitation of wage workers) with the “socio-ecological question”. The “waged jobs vs the environment” trade‐off is a point of tension in the relationship between trade‐unions and green movements. Trade unions need an assurance regarding the jobs that would be lost in a transition away from fossil fuels. However, this chapter questions the myth that working-class people do not care about the environment and health, showing examples in Morocco, Zambia, Italy, Peru, Canada, Colombia, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and Argelia. In mining conflicts, in factories and in plantations, trade unions fought for a long time for the rights of exploited workers in struggles linking grievances on low wages and bad conditions of work with health issues. Much before there was a discussion on Just Transitions, there was a working-class environmentalism on issues of health and safety at work, such as asbestosis.

Section: Land, Water, Air and Freedom