Why Climate Action Is a Trade Union Issue

A new year always brings a sense of renewal and purpose and as we enter the third month of the Year of Climate Action, that sense of purpose has never been more needed. The climate crisis isn’t just an environmental issue it’s a class issue, and that means it’s a trade union issue.

From the rising cost of food and energy to unsafe working temperatures and extreme weather hitting our communities, working-class people are on the frontline of the crisis. But we’re also the ones with the power to change things when we act together.

Climate, Class and the Workplace

The same system that drives exploitation at work is driving environmental breakdown. Corporate greed, deregulation, and the relentless chase for profit come at the expense of both workers and the planet. Those at the top make the decisions and take the profits while working people pay the price in our pay packets, our health, and our environment.

When a company cuts corners on safety, ignores waste, or squeezes production to breaking point, it’s not just bad for workers it’s bad for the planet. And when unions fight back, whether for fair pay, safe conditions, or public ownership, we’re not just fighting for ourselves we’re fighting for a sustainable, liveable future.

Myth-Busting: It’s Not Workers vs. the Planet

Too often, we’re told that protecting the environment means sacrificing jobs or tightening belts. That’s a lie and one that serves only those who profit from inaction.

A just transition doesn’t mean fewer jobs. It means better jobs: secure, unionised, and rooted in industries that protect both people and the planet. Workers aren’t the problem we’re the solution.

It’s not workers who design wasteful processes, outsource production, or slash maintenance budgets. It’s employers. And its workers, through our unions, who have the knowledge and collective power to make workplaces more efficient, safer, and greener.

We know where the waste happens. We know what corners get cut. And we know how to do things better when we’re given the voice and the power to do so.

From Awareness to Action

That’s why climate action must be rooted in organising, not in charity or corporate PR. It’s about bargaining for change, using our collective power to win improvements that benefit everyone from cleaner, safer workplaces to greener, fairer industries.

BFAWU members are already doing this work: raising green issues in negotiations, challenging waste and energy inefficiency, and linking climate justice with the fight for better pay and conditions. Every conversation about the environment is also a conversation about power who has it, and how we use it.

The Power of Collective Hope

As we step into this new year, let’s start as we mean to go on by organising. By challenging the idea that climate change is someone else’s responsibility. And by showing that workers’ voices are essential to any real solution.

The fight for climate justice is the fight for social justice. It’s the fight for decent work, safe homes, and a future for our families and communities. It’s the fight trade unions were made for.

Because when workers organise, we don’t just defend the present we build the future.

And that’s why climate action isn’t just our concern.

It’s our cause.