sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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Box III.8
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: TRADE UNION ACTION ON
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
The most important benchmarks for trade union action on environmental matters in the region are:
• The declaration of the first Trade Union Conference on Labour and the Environment in Latin America and the
Caribbean organized by the International Labour Foundation for Sustainable Development (Sustainlabour) and
the Inter-American Regional Organization of Workers (ORIT) of the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) in São Paulo, Brazil, in April <strong>20</strong>06, attended by more than 60 representatives from ORIT and
the Latin American Workers' Confederation (CLAT), representatives of subregional trade union coordinating
bodies and global federations. In the Declaration, the signatories decided to “strengthen the links between the
environment, work and poverty”, stating that “decent work is essential for people to enjoy a <strong>sustainable</strong>
livelihood”.
• The declaration of the second Trade Union Conference on Labour and the Environment in Latin America and
the Caribbean, adopted in May <strong>20</strong>09, states the position of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas
(TUCA) on climate change negotiations.
• Labour's platform for the Americas: Decent work for <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> is a document produced jointly
by the Inter-American Regional Workers’ Organization (ORIT), the Andean Labour Consultative Council
(CCLA), the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL), the Southern Cone Union Coordinating Body (CCSCS), the
Central America and Caribbean Union Coordinating Body (CCSCAC) and the national labour centres of
Canada, the United States and Mexico. Point 2 of the platform is entitled: “Economic objectives which pursue
<strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> and focus on decent jobs and full employment”.
Source: International Labour Organization (ILO).
However, trade unions face a number of obstacles to participating in decisions relating to
environmental matters. First and foremost, Governments rarely call upon unions to discuss and voice their
concerns about environmental policies or measures. As a result, it is unusual for environmental policies to
consider social and labour aspects, or for social and labour negotiations to integrate the environmental
dimension. Fortunately, this has begun to change, and some environment ministries, such as that of Chile,
are now incorporating areas for working jointly with trade unions. Similarly, some labour ministries, such
as that of Brazil, are incorporating the environment area.
Unions also have their limitations, such as poor integration of programmes of action and
technical expertise. It is essential for monitoring instruments and strategies to include training and
experience-sharing opportunities. A good example is the project by the Trade Union Confederation of
the Americas on strengthening trade union action on environmental and <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> issues.
The aim of this project is to develop a programme of joint trade union action on environmental issues in
Latin America, by building the capacity of trade unions and workers to take action in the workplace and
in the community and to increase their participation in local, national, regional and international
environmental processes.
7. Private sector
Substantial progress has been made in business environmental performance since the early 1990s.
Examples of this progress are the adoption of environmental management technologies and systems to
prevent and combat pollution and fulfil environmental regulations and standards; efforts to provide
products and services that meet environmental criteria or employ cleaner processes that exceed the