German Trade Unions and Decarbonisation: A Transition to Green Growth, A-Growth or Degrowth?

IF 1.5 Q2 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR
Vera Trappmann, Dennis Eversberg, Felix Schulz
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Abstract

While the need for a transformation to tackle climate change is no longer contested, competing visions about the future have taken the front seat in political debates. Previous research on stakeholders in the European Parliament and the German Bundestag identified opposing views relating to green growth, degrowth and post-growth. In relation to trade unions, these have recently been discussed conceptually to some extent, but empirical work on the topic has hitherto been absent. Drawing on 25 semi-structured interviews with representatives of Germany's DGB trade unions, we find that, despite their strong support for a green growth narrative and official opposition to post-growth thought, the majority of interviewees sketched out concrete visions for a just future that in some respects aligns with post- or a-growth positions. In line with post-growth discourses, trade union officials described an economy that allows for ‘a good life’ and ‘good work’, based on principles of co-determination, secure and well-paid jobs ensured by collective bargaining, income, wealth and inheritance tax reform and a stronger, more active role of the state. Findings suggest that despite German labour unions’ shared opposition to the term post-growth or degrowth, there is significant overlap in terms of concrete goals and policy proposals.

德国工会与脱碳:向绿色增长过渡,A增长还是去增长?
虽然应对气候变化的转型必要性已不再受到质疑,但在政治辩论中,关于未来的不同愿景占据了主导地位。之前对欧洲议会和德国联邦议院的利益相关者的研究发现了与绿色增长、去增长和后增长有关的对立观点。关于工会,最近在某种程度上进行了概念上的讨论,但迄今为止还没有关于这一主题的实证工作。根据对德国DGB工会代表的25次半结构化采访,我们发现,尽管他们强烈支持绿色增长叙事,官方反对后增长思想,但大多数受访者勾勒出了公正未来的具体愿景,在某些方面与后增长或后增长立场一致。与后增长话语一致,工会官员描述了一个允许“美好生活”和“美好工作”的经济,其基础是共同决定的原则,通过集体谈判、收入、财富和遗产税改革以及国家更强大、更积极的作用来确保安全和高薪的工作。研究结果表明,尽管德国工会共同反对后增长或去增长这一术语,但在具体目标和政策建议方面存在显著重叠。
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来源期刊
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR-
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
14.30%
发文量
33
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