In July 2022, Norwegian oil and gas workers went on strike over wages. Just one day after the strike, the government intervened.
“Norway plays a vital role in supplying gas to Europe and the planned upgrade will have serious consequences for the UK, Germany and other countries,” Labour Minister Marte Mjøs Persen told Reuters.
This article first appeared in the latest issue Renaissance and Ecologists Magazine.
The speed with which governments have stepped in shows us the centrality of energy in the modern global economy.
strategy
However, this centrality may also partly explain why the energy sector is so difficult to transition, why energy companies seem to have so much power over the state, and why governments are so fearful or prevalent when production stalls or is interrupted by war sick.
As a force to stop extractive capital from ravaging the planet, unions may be unrivaled.
Energy workers have the expertise to inform our activities for a just transition to green energy and then help implement it.
But more importantly, they have the right to demand change and shut down the industry through strike action, which could present a huge strategic opportunity for the climate movement.
However, the relationship between environmentalists and unions in the UK energy sector, such as United and GMB, has not always been harmonious.
harmful
The union’s record is mired in a history of working with energy sector bosses and protectionist policies to prevent job losses in the oil and gas sector.
Meanwhile, the climate movement has been divided over “green capitalism”, holding back some union activists.
In our unions, energy systems and societies, how can we come together to fight climate collapse and envision a future free from bad forms of power?
Unions are inherently contradictory.in his new book Workers Can Win: A Guide to Work OrganizationUnionist Ian Allinson wrote: “Unions are an organization that boycotts employers, but we also use unions to agree with management on our terms of exploitation.”
Part of agreeing to our terms of exploitation includes agreeing that our jobs will continue to exist. In the extractive industries, union leadership may ultimately argue for the continued existence of a harmful and disruptive sector.
competition
