The number of green jobs created decreased from 2014 to 2018 which has been described as an “appalling failure”.
This is the opinion of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) when reacting to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data that shows that there were 235,900 green jobs in 2014 compared to 224,800 green jobs in 2018. This is a drop of 11,100.
There was a small increase between 2017 and 2018 but the “annual progress is still far too slow.”
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC said:
This is a dreadful record. The climate emergency is a major threat to the living standards of British people. But we are making next to no progress transforming our economy to safeguard our future.
There should be a very good news story to tell. A path has been open to us for a long time now that’s full of opportunities to create good quality green jobs. By taking this path, we can revitalise towns and communities that lost traditional industries.
No more excuses – the government must sit down with unions and businesses to plan a just transition to a fairer greener economy.
Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds said:
The UK is one of only seven countries that allows zero-hour contracts.
Just last year (2019), Ireland banned zero-hour contracts with the TUC hoping the UK will follow suit.
A TUC study found that two-thirds of zero-hour workers want guaranteed work. Ms O’Grady did explain how younger employees do claim to enjoy working zero-hour contracts due to the flexibility of the work, but this is a very small minority.
Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to announce better employee rights to protect those on zero-hours contracts in his Budget on March 11.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
