Unions call for energy transition authority to help workers exiting fossil fuel sector

(The Guardian, 27 Mar 2023) Australian Council of Trade Unions chief, Michele O’Neil, will argue for retraining, redeployment and compensation programs.

Australian unions have called for an energy transition authority to be established in the budget, pushing the Albanese government towards greater investment in decarbonisation.

The president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Michele O’Neil, will make that call in an address to the National Press Club on Tuesday, proposing the authority coordinate schemes to retrain, redeploy or compensate redundant workers in fossil fuel industries.

The ACTU also released a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, signed by more than 70 prominent business peak bodies, unions, investors and climate organisations backing the creation of an authority. These include the Australian Industry Group, the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Last week the Greens called for a national energy transition authority in a Senate inquiry backing their private senator’s bill. The move was rejected by Labor senators on the basis it would duplicate the work of existing agencies.

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The Guardian, 27 Mar 2023: Unions call for energy transition authority to help workers exiting fossil fuel sector