Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697630267243.pdf (Australia)
1.0 November 2016 Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications VIA EMAIL ec.

sen a h. ovau AsUAustralian Services Union Dear Committee Secretary AsU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations In June 2015, the owners of South Australia's only coal-fired power station announced their shock decision to close.
By May 201.6, all workers had walked out of the gates for the last time, As the major union at the operation, we saw firsthand the impact of an absence of a transition plan for workers and the community from the owners of power stations and governments.

It is the context of this experience of AsU members that we provide this submission.

The AsU strongly supports the submission put forward by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
Our contribution is to provide additional commentary based on our own experiences.

We note the letter of the AsU National Office in support of this submission, and we support its own comments.

Whilst we have not had the opportunity to consider submissions from other unions, we acknowledge their experiences and expertise and support their commitment to our shared aspiration for a Just Transition.
We note the extensive work on Just Transition by unions internationally, including our global peak body, the International Trade Union Confederation.

We encourage the committee to review and research this work.

With no coal-fired power stations now operating in South Australia, we hope our experience can lay out some lessons and assist in designing a blue print for a just Transition elsewhere in Australia.
Finally, we encourage the Committee to turn its mind to long term consideration to a just Transition for gas-fired power stations.

It may be some decades before we see the mass-closure of gas-fired stations, but if the lesson from Port Augusta has taught us anything, it is that we cannot commence the planning early enough.

We would welcome the opportunity to make an oral submission to the Committee, with impacted members.
Australian Services Union - SA + NT Branch Secretary Joseph Scales Assistant Secretary Abbie Spencer 5-9 Rundle Street Kent Town SA 5067 PO Box 2217 Kent Town SA 5071 (08) 8363/322 union@asu-santasn.

au WWW.

asu-santasn.

au Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 INTRODUCTION Every member of the Australian Services Union – SA + NT Branch (ASU) is impacted by climate change.

Every worker; every family; every community.

There are no jobs on a dead planet.


The ASU’s position on climate change is clear – the science and the evidence is in.

We need to act.

The international union movement calls for a reduction of emissions before and beyond 2020 to limit temperature rise to 2⁰C.

As trade unionists, we believe we must do what we can to preserve a healthy planet for generations of workers and their families to come.

But we all need to act responsibly to ensure there is a Just Transition for workers and their communities.
ASU members who work in Energy are one of the first groups of workers to be impacted by climate change, associated government policies and the market response.

In the last twelve months, ASU members working in a coal-fired power station and coalmine in regional South Australia saw their jobs suddenly go for ever.

There was nothing just about the transition from full employment, to joblessness.

This was a short term crisis for which we needed to swiftly develop a response.
Without a Just Transition, we all lose.

The workers, their local community, and our entire country.

Without a Just Transition there will be no appropriate work opportunities; technical expertise and experience will be left unused; and surrounding small businesses will be gutted.
Indeed, even for the lucky former employees from high-carbon workplaces who do find work, without a Just Transition all likelihood is that they will have wound up in jobs unmatched to their skill sets and capacity, on insecure conditions, with much lower wages.

The impact on the worker and their family is obvious.

When extrapolated, the flow on effect to the local, state and national economy can be significant.
We also have the opportunity to plan for longer term transitions – such as for workers in gas-fired power stations or in electricity networks.

There is a lot of work ahead of us and the ASU is committed to playing our part.

We don’t have all of the answers but we do have many of the questions.
We are committed to working with governments and the community to tackle these challenges because all of our members – whether they work in energy, local government, community services, administration, private sector, public sector, airlines, finance or legal work – depend on real action.

We are committed to engaging our members in the discussion and debate about action on climate change.
We are committed to continuing to work with unions across Australia and the world to explore answers and uncover the opportunities; as well as with community and environmental groups in this effort.

2 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 Following our calls in 2015, the South Australian Government committed to an aspiration of making South Australia the Just Transition capital of the world.
Let’s extend that aspiration to the whole of Australia.

3 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The ASU has been actively involved in workplaces, industries, environmental sector and the international union movement in developing strategies for a Just Transition.
We make a few specific acknowledgements in recognition of their contribution to the development of the ASU’s advocacy on Just Transition and industrial transformation in the energy sector:  ASU members working in the energy sector  ASU members working in environmental NGOs  International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – in particular, Sharan Burrow, Samantha Smith, Gemma Swart and Alison Tate  Trade Union Congress (UK), United Kingdom  Daniel Spencer, Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC)  Alex Rafalowicz, Climate Action Network Australia (CANA)  South Australian Government – in particular, the Minister for Climate Change Hon Ian Hunter MLC and his Department and staff 4 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 THE PORT AUGUSTA EXPERIENCE In early 2015, the owners of Port Augusta’s coal-fired power station and the Leigh Creek coalmine (Alinta Energy) commenced a review of the operations.
Alinta Energy categorically denied upon repeated questioning from the ASU that any consideration was being given to a potential closure.

Port Augusta has been generating energy through coal since the smaller of the two power stations (Playford) was commissioned in 1963.

The larger power station (Northern) was commissioned in 1985.
It was a massive shock to workers, their unions and the community when on the front page of The Advertiser on 11 June 2015, they learnt that the power station and coalmine were set to be closed by 2018.

On that day, workers and their unions predicted the first round of jobs would be gone by Christmas.

In October it was announced that the closure would be brought forward to March 2016 (final closure was eventually pushed out to May 2016).

Jobs were indeed gone by that Christmas.


Unions sought to develop a ‘closure agreement’ to enshrine additional entitlements for workers upon the closure.

This was ultimately appended (by vote and certification of the Fair Work Commission) to the various enterprise agreements.

All that this secured, however, were some improved entitlements on the way out the door.

Mitigating the harsh impact of losing your job.

Workers have been forced to retire early, or move intra- or inter-state to seek out work.
Many are doing only odd jobs around town.

Some are completely unemployed.

Few have moved directly onto full, like employment.

Only a small proportion of those in full employment are in the same region.

A missed opportunity Since 2012, some members of the Port Augusta community have campaigned for a concentrated solar thermal plant with storage to be built in the region to create new jobs and provide a transition from the coal-fired power station.
It would have created a large number of short term jobs in the construction phase; and a number of ongoing jobs once generating energy – much higher than other forms of renewable energy generation.

Whilst a smaller workforce, this would have provided jobs for workers to directly transition to and ensured some ongoing economic security for the region.

It is worth noting that there is still an opportunity to provide a new future for this region by the development of solar thermal plant in Port Augusta.
As this would be the first large solar thermal plant in Australia, there are also opportunities to create a manufacturing hub in the Upper Spencer Gulf region which could supply parts for other solar thermal plant projects around Australia.
The proposals currently being pursued will rely upon Federal and State Government support: 5 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 ● The South Australian Government signing a power purchase agreement with the solar thermal generator to supply South Australian Government energy use.
The SA Government opened a tender for low carbon energy in November 2015 which some companies vying for the solar thermal project have participated in, the results of this tender are yet to be announced.

● Federal Government support through a direct grant or equity investment This highlights why governments need foresight and courage in preparing for a Just Transition.
Here we had a community with all of the “ingredients” for a Just Transition; but because of failed government support (in particular from the Federal Government), the opportunity was missed.

The key lessons A well unionised workplace meant that members of the ASU and other unions had secured good workplace conditions over many years.

Further, as a well unionised workplace, the workers were able to demand as much consultation as possible and secure strong closure entitlements.
This all however simply softened the blow.

We need greater respect from the corporates who own these facilities.

Years of dishonesty about closure timelines, right up to the very last weeks; coupled with the attitude that led to the workforce learning their jobs were gone from the front page of the newspaper.

Corporations’ responsibility in a Just Transition include treating the workforce and community with dignity and respect Governments of all levels need to take on a sense of urgency for this issue.
They cannot wait until closure has been announced – a Just Transition is then impossible.

This takes tri-partite (employer; government; workers and their unions) discussion and long-term planning over many years.

This is too complex for a single level of government to handle.

Indeed, if a government has a climate change policy agenda, it must include sophisticated Just Transition strategies.
6 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 WHAT IS A JUST TRANSITION Just Transition has a distinct meaning.

Its origins are recognised as from North American trade unions, workers and our colleagues in the environmental movement.

The United Nations has utilised the language formally since drafting of the negotiating texts for COP15 (Copenhagen) began.
Responsibilities and commitment to a Just Transition form part of the Paris Agreement reached at COP21.

A Just Transition is at its essence a very modern term associated specifically with industrial transformation driven by climate action; but it is responding to the historical experiences of poor industrial transformation.

Simply consider the devastating economic and social impacts of the mass closure of coal mines in Wales and England in the 1970s and 1980s.
These communities shut down almost overnight and have never recovered.

To this end, a Just Transition is the industrial, economic and social framework to support climate action.

To be effective, a Just Transition cannot be an afterthought; rather it must be a central part of Climate Change and Energy policies.
Key elements of Just Transition A Just Transition most include the following principles in order to form a clean timeline to enable planning, allow time for activities like retraining, and importantly avoid the need for a limited crisis response.
 Consultation/union voice Consultation between representatives from trade unions, business, government and voluntary (including environmental) organisations, on the shift to a green, low carbon economy, from the workplace to government to international policy  Green and decent jobs Investing in the technologies and infrastructure to meet sustainability challenges for a low carbon, resource-efficient future while creating quality, skilled jobs.
 Green skills Government-led investments in education/training and skills programmes, from the workplace to state-wide and national levels, to equip students and the workforce with the skills for a lower carbon, resource-efficient economy.

Promoting individual worker rights to training to ensure access for all workers.
 Respect for labour and human rights Democratic decision-making and respect for human and labour rights are essential to ensure the fair representation of workers’ and communities’ interests.

Strengthening worker information, consultation and participation rights to matters concerning sustainable development.

 Social protections Strong and efficient social protection systems for individuals and communities in the transition to a low carbon economy.
7 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 Lead in time With the Hazelwood closure, like in Port Augusta before it, we are dealing with an urgent, crisis transition.

In South Australia, Government and unions simply mitigated the worst impacts of the closure.
We had no real plan ready to respond, there were no real jobs to transition this workforce to, and there was not an immediate way to ensure the Port Augusta economy is sustainable.

Perhaps more alarmingly, smaller communities like Quorn and Hawker, where a number of Alinta Energy workers live, could all but disappear now the Power Station has closed.

As an anecdotal example, one ASU member described to us that the Quorn Football Club’s committee is made up of mostly Alinta Energy workers.
This particular worker’s children attend the Quorn Reception to Year 12 school where he is on the School Council – a majority of Councillors again worked at the Power Station.

How will essential parts of the social fabric of a country community such as the school and football club survive when workers are forced to leave town to find new work?

What is the social cost to the potential closure of the Club and school?
Unions and Government should work together to review the Port Augusta closure to create a blueprint of how to better respond to a crisis like this and try and find a Just Transition within it.

What is clear is that to ensure a Just Transition we need time and need to have the courage to prepare years in advance.

For example, whilst outside the scope of this inquiry, with the closure of Alinta Energy, there is no longer any coal-generated energy in South Australia.
This provides an opportunity to open the discussion about the long term future of gas-generated energy in the state and the job security of that workforce.

Closure may well be decades away.

This is the ideal time to develop a Just Transition plan for workers at gas-generated Power Stations.

Leaving it up to the market?

In South Australia, we suffer from a privatised energy market.

What is clear from our members’ experiences is that we cannot leave this transition solely to the marketplace.
If we let the market determine its own future of our energy generation, it will not even seek to serve the interests of the public in terms of jobs and potentially even in provision of energy.

It is important to assert that the State has a role to play in planning, innovating, generating and providing energy.

Workers in the industry, with their extensive expertise, have strong views on the importance of localised energy generation and developing regulation that ensures this.
This is an important example of the need to harness and engage the expertise of the workforce.
8 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT; POLICY DEVELOPMENT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND A JUST TRANSITION We note that the ACTU submission and Policy Discussion paper provides detailed suggestions for Federal Government authorities and initiatives to respond to this industrial transformation in the energy sector, ensuring a Just Transition.

We reiterate that the ASU fully supports this submission.
A “whole of government” approach Governments have been disjointed in developing policy for action on climate change.

Climate Change policy and Energy policy must be sophisticated and interconnected.

We need a whole of government approach to have a real impact and to manage a transition smoothly.

This is why, for instance, ASU members describe the need of bringing together policy making and bureaucracies around Climate Change and Energy.
ASU members have raised with us what appear as contradictory policy actions such as Government subsidising fossil fuels and renewables at the same time.

A whole of government approach provides opportunities for more efficient action – such as by intersecting the broader training and skills agenda with vocational training for a Just Transition.
Ongoing Government-Union relations In order to respond to this challenge effectively, we need to do it collectively – government, unions, industry, employers, environmental organisations and the community.

Unions need to be engaged beyond times of crises or on purely industrial arrangements.

There are obvious examples of such collaborative work in our recommendations.
Some general frameworks we propose to an ongoing collaboration would be:  A structured process is developed for Unions and Government to share expertise of workers, public servants, sub-national governments, and international partners;  A capacity to develop shared modelling for future industry;  Specific engagement with unions representing workers in high-carbon industries;  General, broad engagement with all unions, regardless of industry representation (as all workers are impacted by climate change) 9 ASU SA + NT Branch submission: Retirement of coal fired power stations Retirement of coal fired power stationsSubmission 54