Environment/Climate Change, Culture
Responding to the challenge of climate change
Climate change, the largest single threat to current and future generations, is posing fundamental challenges for public services and public service workers. In recent years, we have seen extreme weather events, flooding and forest fires for example, leading to loss of life and widespread damage and destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Our members across many services have been part of the immediate and longer term response – in emergency and rescue services, energy and water, local and regional government. EPSU has been working hard to influence policies at global and European level aimed at decarbonising our economies and calling for a shift away from growth at all costs. It is essential that we achieve a more sustainable society is achieved through a just transition whereby no one is left behind.
This briefing, produced for EPSU's 2019 Congress, sets out the federation's recent activity on climate change and current priorities. EPSU has published research focusing on some of the key issues and policy developments including its position on the EU's Green Deal, the failure of energy liberalisation to address climate change and an analysis of action on climate change adaptation.
#ChangeFinance: Open Letter to the European Commission to cancel BlackRock tender
The European Commission has awarded BlackRock Investment Management a consultancy contract to advise on the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks into EU banking rules, and into banks’ business and investment strategies.
EPSU protests against attack on culture workers' pay and conditions
EPSU has sent letters to the prime minister and leaders of political groups in parliament protesting at legislation that will remove public service status from over 20000 workers in libraries, museums, archives, culture centres, theatres and orchestras. This is a group of workers that is mainly low paid and whose pay has been frozen for over 10 years. The additional employment protection of public service status is one of their few main benefits. The government is using its emergency to push through the change at breakneck speed without the usual parliamentary process or consultation with
Hungary: EPSU backs culture workers in protest against ending public service status
EPSU has today sent a letter to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Minister for Human Resources, Miklós Kásler, to protest over government plans to change the legal status of culture workers – those working in museums, libraries, archives and public cultural institutes.
EPSU Position on the European Green Deal
Challenging consensus on the use of market-based solutionsto fight climate breakdown. The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) welcomes the Green Deal proposed by the European Commission as a holistic response to the climate emergency.
EPSU Utilities Sanding Committee: role of the public sector and a just transition for workers must be at the core of the EU Green Deal
(27 February 2020) On 26th February, EPSU held its biannual Standing Committee (SC) on Utilities, bringing together EPSU affiliates from across Europe. The key elements addressed during this meeting were
On the National Day of Hungarian Culture, Hungarian workers in the cultural sector demand better pay!
EPSU affiliates KKDSZ are holding a demonstration to protest the unacceptable low level of pay across the culture sector and the lack of any pay increase for their members for over 10 years.
Unions focus on green issues in church agreements
Unions in Norway and Sweden have put the focus on green issues in their current and planned negotiations with church employers. In Norway there is a commitment to address sustainability issues with the Norwegian church in an agreement that also includes measures to ensure a working environment that promotes health and also initiatives to reduce sickness absence. Meanwhile, in Sweden upcoming negotiations will include green measures along with a focus on a clearer process of pay determination and increased control over working time to improve work-life balance.
Union action on pay on day of culture
The KKDSZ culture workers' union has launched a petition highlighting low pay in the sector and plans to hand it to the minister of human resources on 22 January, the national day of culture. The union will highlight the contradiction of government claims that national culture is important while failing to increase pay for museum, library and other culture workers for over 10 years or engage in proper collective bargaining. The union is planning a number of events in Budapest and other cities. EPSU send a message of solidarity.