Congress motions

Motion

Motion title

Schoolchildren's strike and education for green jobs

Session

2018-2019

Meeting link

Annual Congress

Meeting date

25 May 2019

Status

Passed

Motion

28

Motion text

Congress welcomes the commitment by Jeremy Corbyn that a Labour Government will create 400,000 new green jobs to tackle climate change. This provides opportunities to implement a Just Transition agenda through the Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA).
Congress welcomes and expresses solidarity with the schoolchildren’s climate change strike, protesting about the lack of action by governments on climate change. Congress regards the protests as being about a fundamentally important political issue as well as an important part of ‘citizenship education’.
Future generations, both in jobs concerned with climate change and the wider workforce, need awareness of environmental issues and of producing in a carbon-neutral manner. Awareness is also needed of equality issues, so that solutions to problems of climate change are not at the expense of the most disadvantaged groups and peoples in the world. The post 16 education sector can contribute research, education and training to provide the knowledge basis for tackling climate change and to develop the workforce needed for green jobs.
UCU will work with a Labour government and environmental groups to develop research, education courses and qualifications to support expansion of green jobs. These should replace high-carbon industries in a socially equitable way.
Congress welcomes the attention drawn to the climate emergency by Extinction Rebellion, and Greta Thunberg’s call for a general strike to demand dramatic, immediate action.
Congress asks NEC to:
1. organise support for further action by school and college students on this issue
2. seek cooperation with the NUS to involve student members in a supportive fashion
3. encourage UCU members to develop appropriate teaching material which could be used in schools and colleges to help develop the debate around the issue of climate change and, where appropriate, include the debate about climate change in courses.
4. campaign for universities, USS, and equivalent institutions to divest from carbon-heavy industries and implement carbon reductions and offsets in travel to help become carbon neutral by 2030.
5. support and promote calls for a general strike for action on climate change, and call on the TUC to organise this.

Proposing body

Composite (Open University, National executive committee, City of Oxford College Activate Learning)

Amended

Yes

Allocated to

Education committee

Notes