WORKERS across the mining sector and communities have been urged to involve themselves in climate transition and de-carbonisation policies amid concerns that ordinary people risk exclusion from decisions that directly affect their livelihoods.
Speaking during a workshop on climate transition and labour issues in Bulawayo recently, Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) secretary- general Justice Chinhema said African workers and trade unions were increasingly demanding a stronger voice in global climate negotiations and national policy frameworks.
“We now have an African person who handles workers’ issues and African community issues,” said Chinhema while reflecting on engagements with the Africa Group of Negotiators.
He said labour representatives realised during continental engagements that many African concerns were already being discussed at the international level, but workers still needed direct representation in shaping the outcomes.
“I personally arranged about seven demands on the Zimbabwe context and also to come into the regional context,” he said.
Chinhema stressed that climate transition discussions should not be confined to policy-makers and governments, but must include workers, mining communities and trade unions.
“So what did we then agree? We agreed that at country level national policy frameworks, national policy discussions must be done,” he said.
“We personally felt so challenged that as Zimbabwe I have never attended any engagement that speaks about transition policies, even the Mines and Minerals Act,” Chinhema said.
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The union leader questioned whose interests were being prioritised in the de-carbonisation process, particularly in mining communities such as Hwange.
“Where is the worker’s voice? How do we put our voice when we are talking about Hwange issues and issues that affect people in Hwange de-carbonisation?”
Chinhema warned that the global shifts from coal and carbon-intensive industries can have devastating consequences for workers if governments fail to prepare inclusive transition strategies.
“The global north position is that coal is dying. They’re actually framing policy that they will not buy anything produced from coal,” he said.
He noted that the transition was already affecting employment and social relations in vulnerable communities, linking economic hardships caused by climate change to rising social problems, including gender-based violence.
“You are going to note that gender-based violence is going to be on the increase. These are realities that we should face. It’s a family issue,” he said.
Chinhema said governments and corporations financially benefit from transition processes while workers remained excluded from decision-making.
“You need also to address it as a union. This just transition is affecting everyone,” he said.
He urged Zimbabwean trade unions and civil society organisations to deepen engagement with climate governance processes ahead of future international climate negotiations.
Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition executive director Justice Zvaita said climate change was likely to worsen social and economic challenges, including gender-based violence and job insecurity during the transition to greener economies.
“This is a thorny issue and it is something that unions also need to address. In this process of a just transition, everyone is affected,” he said.
Zvaita also warned that climate change and economic transitions can lead to widespread job losses, adding that workers and unions must push for stronger job security protections.
“So how can we then advocate for job security during this transitional phase that we are talking about?”
