Enabling a Inclusive Green
Economy
Green Jobs and Decent Work in
South Africa
Karl Pfeffer, ILO CO Pretoria
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South Africa: ILO framework
Decent Work Country programme 2010-2014
- Signed September 2010
- Implementation and monitoring within NEDLAC
- 4 priorities
- Strengthening fundamental principles and rights at
work
- Promotion of Employment Creation
- Strengthening and broadening social protection
coverage
- Strengthening tripartism and social dialogue
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South Africa: ILO framework
Priority Promotion of Employment Creation
- Outcome 3: More women and men, especially youth
and persons with disabilities, have access to productive
and decent employment through inclusive job rich
growth
- Output 3.7. Coherent policy framework developed for the
adoption of employment intensive investments in green
production both the formal and informal economies
- Outcome 4: Sustainable and competitive enterprises
create productive and decent Jobs especially among
women, youth and persons with disabilities
- Output 4.2. Support for coherent and enabling policy
environment for the promotion of sustainable enterprises
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South Africa: Socio-economic
Background
• Deep structural unemployment
– 25% National average
– Over 30% if discouraged work seekers are included
– North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Eastern Cape have an
unemployment rate of over 40%.
• Youth Unemployment
– majority of the unemployed (just under 70%) are between the
ages of 15 to 34
– 90% of those unemployed are between the ages of 15 and 44
• Small informal sector
• Current economic model struggling to create job rich
people centered economic growth
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South Africa: Climate Change and
environment: Challenges
- Electricity and non renewable resources (coal-fired power
stations (providing 80% of SA energy supply))
-Construction: buildings and construction one of the biggest
consumers of electricity (AC, hearing,…)
-Recycling
-Green materials (cfr. Cement)
-Energy saving devices and SWH
-Mining : level of pollution caused in the process of extracting
and processing the minerals, and the environmental legacy
left by past mining, acid mine drainage, surface and
groundwater pollution, soil contamination, siltation,
contamination of aquatic sediments and fauna, air pollution
from dust,
South Africa: Climate Change and
environment: Challenges
-South Africa’s coastal regions will warm by around 1-2°C by
about 2050 and around 3-4°C by about 2100;
-South Africa’s interior regions will warm by around 3-4°C by
about 2050 and around 6-7°C by about 2100;
-There will be an increase in the frequency and severity of
extreme weather event
Impact of climate change could be dramatic in long term
threatening the livelihoods of thousands of South Africans
Green Jobs Framework: 2 challenges
Environment:
Social challenge:
Averting climate change
Decent work for all
Protecting life-support on
earth
Well-being and dignity
for the excluded
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Green Jobs provide the linking element
to address the dual challenge
It is at workplaces that the environmental and social challenge
comes inseparably together
Social
development
Green Jobs
Environmental
sustainability
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Green Jobs are Jobs in Agriculture,
Manufacturing or Service that:
Reduce consumption of energy and raw materials
Limit Green House Gas emissions
Minimize waste and pollution
Protect and restore ecosystems
Adapt to Climate Change
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.. and Green Jobs are Decent Jobs:
Productive and gainful
Recognizing rights at work
Ensure a minimum of social protection
Social Dialogue
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What are Green jobs?
South Africa, New Growth Strategy:
Green Economy Accord to create
300.000 new green jobs
• South African
government, business
and labour have signed
a new accord in 2011
• One of the most
comprehensive social
partnerships on "green
economy” in the world
• Geared to create
300,000 jobs within
the next 10 years
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Green Jobs and the role
of Trade Unions
 Trade Unions were involved from the beginning in the climate change
debate
 1992 Rio Earth Summit

Workers are central to greening of the Economy not technology
“As representatives of the workers, trade unions are vital actors in facilitating the
achievement of sustainable development in view of their experience in addressing
industrial change, the extremely high priority they give to protection of the working
environment and the related natural environment.” Chapter 29 of the 1992 Rio Earth
Summit’s Agenda for Change
• Climate change will have impact on employment (positive and
negative)
 Key concept:Just Transition
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Green Jobs and the role
of Trade Unions
• Just transition concept originated in the TU movement and
new widely adopted
• ITUC in 20100 reconfirmed the importance of social
progress, environmental protection and economic needs
• Just Transition concept stresses need for public policy
needs in order to maximize benefits and minimize hardship
for workers affected by climate change and transition to
green economy
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Green Jobs and the role of
Trade Unions- Just
Transition
• social dialogue and early assessment of social and
employment impacts
• Training and skills development
• Social protection
• Economic diversification plans
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Green Jobs and the role
of Trade Unions
- DWCP – instrument for delivery of ILO cooperation in a
specific country - links priorities of the constituents & the
ILO
– expected to be formulated through a tripartite participatory
process
- Trade unions can use the DWCPs as a platform to work on
Green Jobs Initiatives. It would be important to know:
- Who is involved in DWCPs at country level?
- What proposals can unions put forward?
- Which kind of capacity building initiatives can ILO support?
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Green Jobs and Tourism:
Challenges/potential
 GhG emission relatively minor, but can increase if
business as usual is maintained
 Car travel and accommodation account for 53% of
GhG emission produced by Tourism sector
 Growing number of tourists
 Waste (1kg/day)
 Water (gardens/laundry/toilets/showers/…)
 Loss of biological diversity
 Increasingly remote areas
 Increasingly intense transport modes
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Green Jobs and Tourism:
Challenges/potential
• Tourism has the significant potential as a driver for growth
for the world economy (directly and indirectly/ gender/
youth)
– 5% of world GDP
– 6-7% employment
• Green tourism has the potential to create new jobs and
reduce poverty
–
–
–
–
Labour intensive
Women and young people
Low entry level regarding skills
Local supply of products, services and Labour (local development
through involvement in value chain)
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Green Jobs and Tourism
Challenges/potential
• Investing in the greening of tourism can reduce the cost of
water energy and waste and enhance the value of biodiversity
– Short pay back period and create possibility for investment in other
tourism products
• Tourists are demanding the green and sustainable tourism
– 1/3 is willing to pay more for environmental friendly tourism
– 1/3 to ½ willing to pay more for tourism products benefitting local and
indigenous communities
• The private sector, especially small firms, can and must be
mobilized to support green tourism
– Awareness creation
– Lack of finance
– Key role government through tax schemes/subsidies/policies/ water and
energy pricing
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Strategy towards sustainable
enterprises and green and decent Jobs
in Tourism
• Awareness raising
– Urgency of adaptation/mitigation and impact of Namibian economy
and key sectors
– Involvement of trade Unions/MOLSW/Employers
– Awareness raising on greening of Tourism sector and opportunities
• Enabling policy environment
–
–
–
–
Social Dialogue
Finance, infrastructure, policy coherence, incentives for SME’s
Job creation, social inclusion
Skills development
• Support to small entrepreneurs/communities
– Strengthened capacity of SME’s in a green economy
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