Energy

Here on Day 3 of COP 21, Human Rights and worker rights have emerged as one of the key issues in the early negotiations. In the current draft text of "Article 2" there is a provision committing the parties to recognition of human rights and just transition for workers in implementing the COP21 agreement. However, a number of countries including Mexico, Norway, and the US are pushing to have these commitments moved to the non-binding preamble section. That is unacceptable for the labour delegates at COP who are lobbying hard to have Article 2 maintained in its present form.

Unifor's delegation to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (“COP21”) has arrived in Paris for this historic world gathering. I am in Paris with a group of senior staff and Ken Smith, President of Local 707A, who is arriving today.

Russ Day, Unifor Local 601 unit chair at the Chevron Burnaby Refinery, recently had the Letter of the Day in the Vancouver Province newspaper. The following letter appeared June 29:

A recent editorial from a handful of construction unions (“Northern Gateway pipeline needed to enrich us all”) was long on rhetoric about the Northern Gateway pipeline and short on facts.

According to the Alberta Federation of Labour, only 228 permanent jobs will be created from a pipeline opposed by 130 First Nations, most BC municipalities, and half of British Columbians.