'Choose a homegrown transition'

Unite delegate Cliff Bowen made a compelling case for a workers’ just transition in a debate on clean energy on Monday (September 23) at Labour Conference.

Cliff said he understood personally what’s at stake as a someone who works in the oil and gas sector where “the future of over 30,000 jobs across the North Sea hangs in the balance”.

“We should be under no illusions as to what will happen if we get this wrong,” he said. “Enough of us in this room remember the fate of the miners forty years ago.

“The closure of the Grangemouth refinery is an abrupt and stark reminder of the complexities of transitioning to a green economy,” he added, as he sent solidarity to these workers and their families.

Cliff went on to call for “a real industrial strategy and a workers’ just transition, built on the expertise and experience of workers themselves”.

“We can show the world what a just transition should look like, taking workers and their communities across the country with us – and in the process revitalising UK manufacturing,” he noted as he emphasised the importance of a transition with workers, not “one that is done to them”.

Cliff went on to say it was vital to see “real commitments to creating new jobs now”.

“We mean jobs which defend and value the skills and experience that our members have worked hard to earn,” he asserted. “We mean jobs with terms and conditions mapped to guarantee every new job is like-for-like or better than those they replace — not virtue signalling or promises of green jobs that do not exist.”

Cliff noted that this was not just a single industry issue.

“That is why we also demand a strategy that includes the entire energy network – one which reduces household bills and strengthens our national security, not one that exports jobs and imports carbon from foreign regimes,” he told conference.

Concluding his speech, Cliff called on delegates to “choose a homegrown energy transition”, one with “energy security, skilled jobs for our communities, investment for the country and a sustainable future for our kids” at its heart.

You can watch Labour Conference live here – and you can follow UniteLive’s coverage of Labour Conference here.

By Hajera Blagg

Photo by Mark Thomas