TUC joins fight against climate change

The Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) has reaffirmed its commitment to fight climate change to ensure that the welfare of workers in the country is not threatened.

The General Secretary of GAWU, Mr Kingsley Ofei-Nkansah, who expressed the union’s commitment, said climate change was real and threatened civilisation and all aspects of the lives of workers.

Speaking at a three-day forum organised by the TUC in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Accra yesterday, Mr Ofei-Nkansah said climate change was threatening livelihood in agriculture, fishing and industries, among others, and this could leave many workers jobless.

The forum, dubbed “Union for Climate Action”, was aimed at bringing trade unions together to share information on what was being done at the various trade union levels with the view to consolidate their knowledge and reaffirm their commitment.

Striving climate

He added that the goal for fighting climate change was to secure a striving climate which would protect the lives and jobs of working people in the country and globally.

“Deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging and fires, among others, account for nearly 20 per cent of global green-house gas emissions,” he said.

Mr Ofei-Nkansah called on the government, trade unions and organisations to formulate sustainable climate action policies, adding that climate change was a trade union issue hence the need to join in the fight.

“There are no jobs on a dead planet,” he added.

The Policy Officer of the International Trade Union Congress, Ms Anabella Rosemberg, said it was incumbent that trade unions joined in the fight for climate change because they could be driving forces for changing policies at the country level.

That, she said, would ensure that the country embarked on a development module which was good for its workers and the planet.