Greening our workplaces – ‘Green Skills’ for trade unionists – 3 day course

Course duration:

3 days of learning (1 day per week spread over 3 weeks).

This course will take place online on 3 consecutive Mondays – the 30th of January, 6th and 13th February 2023 – learners will need to attend each session.

Course delivery:

Online group sessions, facilitated by a trade union education tutor via Microsoft Teams.

Who should attend?

This course is aimed at both new and experienced green/environmental reps as well as other trade unionists who wish to take action on the climate and nature emergency in their workplace. It is suitable for all union officers, branch officials, reps, health and safety reps, union learning reps and equality reps who wish to find out more about the trade union approach to sustainability.

Course description:

Workers across all sectors will be affected by changes and will be part of the efforts to decarbonise and move Wales to a more sustainable, zero-waste, circular economy. And trade union members have the knowledge and ideas to help deliver the changes needed.

Workers have a huge amount of knowledge that can help organisations looking to reduce their environmental impact. It’s often the workers on the ground who are most likely to understand how to do this effectively. Trade unions can play a key role in identifying and delivering best environmental practice at workplace level.

Unions can ensure that efforts to reduce an organisation’s environmental impact are developed collaboratively and in full consultation with workers. Involving workers can make sure that changes are fair, effective and have the full support of people in the workplace.

This course focusses on the practical skills needed to develop union-led sustainability initiatives in the workplace. It covers the core skills required for trade unionists who want to take practical action on the environment in their workplace or become a trade union environmental or ‘green’ representative.

Across Wales, union reps are already working with their members to make workplaces more sustainable. They are finding ways to cut carbon and reduce waste, campaigning for cleaner air and creating green spaces to support nature. This course uses the Wales TUC’s new Greener Workplaces for a Just Transition toolkit as a resource and aims to support all trade unionists who want to be involved in the movement to green our workplaces.

The course covers:

➔ Understanding the climate and environmental emergency and identifying the impact on your workplace.

➔ Working with the branch and members to identify sustainability issues that need to be raised with management.

➔ How to carry out workplace environmental audits.

➔ How to review and develop workplace environmental policies and agreements

➔ Awareness raising and promotion of green workplace practices.

How to apply: Fill in our application form  or contact the course tutor, John James, directly on [email protected] or 07527 450276

Venue: online

Hours: 9.15am to 16.45pm

Time-off to attend training:

Guidance on paid release can be found on pages 8 – 9 of the Wales TUC education course directory.

ACAS guidance states that it is good practice for employers to offer time off with pay for specialist reps such as green or environmental reps to attend training and carry out their duties.

Please speak to your own union for advice about securing time off and for guidance on any relevant agreements/procedures agreed between your employer and your union.