PCS Climate Justice Week: Day 3, Green Bargaining & Workplace Action

Saul Cahill, a member of PCS climate change executive committee, gave a thorough overview of how to get the green agenda into the workplace.

Green bargaining ensures that environmental action is shaped by workers, not imposed on them. It’s no different from any other industrial issue. PCS must have a seat at the table to secure climate justice. PCS intends to bargain over the things that impact both the planet and our members: things like carbon emissions, energy use, travel policies, and procurement.

Why green bargaining matters

Climate change is a trade union issue. It affects our jobs, our workplaces, and our communities. Green bargaining is about embedding climate justice into our industrial strategy. It is not just environmentalism but social and economic justice too. Instead of just reacting to climate change we should shape how the transition away from fossil fuels happens, ensuring it is fair and protects workers.

Climate change is also a workplace issue. Every office contributes to emissions through energy use, procurement, travel and waste. And it’s not a discrete issue - environmental consideration must permeate through the way we negotiate on every issue. An example is the extended use of AI in departments. While there’s a danger managers could use this to drive redundancies instead of efficiencies, there is also a significant environmental impact through energy and water consumption. Negotiators should highlight this.

PCS national demands

The civil service can lead by example. PCS’ ambition is that green bargaining must mean negotiating real change: decarbonisation, just transition, and climate justice. PCS is calling for:

  • National and departmental green bargaining structures
  • Ambitious and transparent targets for the Greening Government Commitments, with clearer enforcement mechanisms
  • Sustainable procurement, especially for data services
  • Formal recognition and facility time for Green Reps
  • Climate-proofing the estate (e.g. ventilation, flood resilience, heat stress mitigation)
  • Changes to the Civil Service and Ministerial Codes to protect civil servants who give environmental advice in line with the law and international obligations
  • Creation of a National Climate Service, an operational arm of the civil service employing workers directly into new climate jobs delivering lower emissions
  • For branches to use the national claim to support their local bargaining agenda

How to get started in your workplace

  1. Start with a Workplace Environmental Audit (appendix 3 of the Green Reps Handbook)
  2. Use the results to build a Workplace Environmental Action Plan (appendix 4 of the Green Reps Handbook)
  3. Push for a Joint Environment Committee or add green issues to existing Health and Safety committees
  4. Run a members’ survey to identify concerns and build engagement
  5. Organise stalls, lunchtime talks, and invite speakers from climate campaigns
  6. Make green issues a standing item on branch agendas and AGMs

Green Reps

Formal recognition and facility time for green reps is PCS and TUC policy. But even without facility time, green reps can still be the (sustainable!) engine of workplace climate action. Green reps can promote green practices, conduct audits, monitor employer sustainability, and develop workplace policies. They also network with other reps to share best practice.

Health and Safety Reps

By working together, Health and Safety Reps and Green Reps strengthen the case for climate justice at work. H&S Reps can also play a vital role in supporting climate-related workplace action. Many environmental issues like poor air quality, extreme heat, inadequate ventilation and flood risk are also health and safety concerns. Reps can integrate climate risks into health and safety inspections, collaborate with Green Reps to address shared concerns like air pollution or building resilience, use legal frameworks (e.g. SRSC Regulations) to push for climate-proofing measures, and support environmental audits (especially where employers resist standalone green assessments).

Campaigning and Bargaining

To support bargaining, PCS has produced a Green Reps Handbook. Some examples of local demands could include:

  • local sustainable travel policies, support for homeworking
  • zero-interest loans for electric vehicles and insulation
  • additional volunteering days for green activities

These can be linked up with national campaigns such as Climate Justice Coalition and Greener Jobs Alliance.

Emergency means action

Climate justice is union business. We have the tools, the policy, and the desire to change the workplace – indeed the world. Members must organise in every workplace, build networks, and push for real change. The climate emergency demands action—and PCS leads the way.