Monthly Archives: September 2009

Global: Firm kicks staff with a carbon footprint

A multinational firm has docked the pay of workers it considered to have too large a carbon footprint outside of work. The trial by global engineering consultancy WSP involved 80 UK based employees. Threequarters were rewarded but a quarter, including managing director Stuart McLachlan, were fined. WSP now intends to expand the “successful” scheme. The […]
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Britain: Unions ‘working on change’

A new publication on unions and climate change will be launched this week at the national congress of UK national trade union confederation TUC. The discussion document, produced by the environmental thinktank Green Alliance, includes contributions from union leaders including Jack Dromey of Unite, Sally Hunt of UCU, Paul Noon of Prospect, Keith Sonnet of […]
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Global: Unions call for a ‘decent’ green economy

With only three months left to achieve a deal to fight climate change at the Copenhagen climate summit, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has launched a new website on climate change and set out its key policy demands. The global union body wants to ensure that an “ambitious” climate change agreement is strengthened by […]
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USA: Economic justice is a green issue

Efforts to create a greener world require measures to make that world more just. And that’s not something that looks like happening any time soon. Michael Renner of the US-based Worldwatch Institute, commenting in his ‘green economy’ blog, notes: “In the United States, and maybe elsewhere as well, full-cost pricing and current socio-economic trends seem […]
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Global: Red alert on the perils of green jobs

Recycling, clean energy, energy conservation – we’ve been told to expect a “green jobs” bonanza. But a spate of fatalities and poisonings in the sector show more work needs to be done to make the jobs as good for workers as they are for the environment, according to a new report from Hazards magazine. It […]
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Global: Long work hours threaten our future

Long hours are bad for workers and should be curtailed for the sake of the workforce and the environment, an investigation by The Ecologist has concluded. The environmental magazine notes: “There’s something wonky with the way we work. Those of us with jobs are stressed when we work, and fatigued when we’re not.” The feature […]
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