ACV-CSCIASIA.ORG, PARIS – Not long ago, the President of KSBSI, Elly Rosita Silaban attended a high-level meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, France on April 25-26 2024. The meeting was attended by high-ranking officials and energy ministers from member countries.
Elly Rosita Silaban was present as a labor representative representing Asia. He is also a member of the Clean Energy Labor Council or IEA Clean Energy Labor Council representing the trade unions of IEA member countries, where in this forum he is the only labor representative who is given the opportunity to speak at the IEA forum.
On this occasion, Elly Rosita Silaban said that the transition to net zero emissions had a disproportionate impact on society, especially vulnerable communities, namely workers and the community.
“One of the failures of mitigation and adaptation is that many countries view economic transition as simply changing from one industry to another. However, the lack of a social perspective prevents addressing the impacts on local communities.” said Elly Rosita Silaban.
Elly added that it seemed everything was being discussed, but failed to capture in detail how to translate the commitments made to inclusion. The ecological transition faces obstacles due to concerns about its social impact. This is not seen as an opportunity to improve welfare and social justice, but rather as a threat to workers and local communities.
“For example, the target towards zero emissions in Indonesia. Specifically in the mining sector, our energy union said, until now there has been no information provided by the government or companies regarding the energy transition in this sector, even though they have been told that there will be an elimination of the coal industry in 2030 “So far, there have been only talks but no meaningful engagement.” Elly explained.
Even Elly Rosita ISlaban in the forum proposed that the government be obliged to provide guidance, at least to answer workers’ questions.
“Such as what kind of support for workers and local communities affected, what kind of social protection, what type of training and skills are provided, how long the training takes, what type. Then benefits, who is responsible for providing training, funding mechanisms for loss facilities and damage and others need to be adopted at the time of energy transition and methods for engagement.” she said.
According to him, it is necessary to seek a clear mechanism for conducting social dialogue in the energy transition to facilitate faster mitigation and adaptation. Because so far this has been one of the main challenges faced by trade unions in many countries.
“In Indonesia, trade unions have difficulty involving the right ministerial bodies to discuss this issue, because of the many ministries involved. We really need cross-ministerial coordination, planning and agreement-making.” she concluded. (RED/Handi)
