Safety First-IEU Seminar Series; Monday, 6th September 2010; Penrith NSW; 8:30am - 3:30pm. read more

Women in Education Committee Meeting; Thursday, 9th September 2010; Armidale NSW; 4:30pm - 6:30pm. read more

Parramatta Principals' Meeting; Thursday, 9th September 2010; Rooty Hill NSW; 7:30 - 8:45 am. read more

Safety First; Friday, 10th September 2010; Ballina NSW; 8:30am - 3:30pm. read more

Principals Branch Meeting; Saturday, 11th September 2010; Parramatta IEU Office; 10:00 am. read more

Principals' Breakfast Meeting - Sydney Eastern Region; Tuesday, 21st September 2010; Daceyville NSW; 7:30 - 8:45 am. read more

2010 IEU Race Day; Wednesday, 29th September 2010; Canterbury NSW; 12:30pm - 5:00 pm. read more

Union Icon Calls For New Approach

Jack Mundey has called on trade unionists, including those involved in the mining industry, to join forces with environmental groups such as the Australian Conservation Foundation to fight climate change, writes IEU Journalist Sue Osborne.

Addressing the recent NSW Alliance of Retired Trade Unionists Conference, ‘The Financial Crisis and Climate Change’, Mundey said there was a crisis in the union movement, with divisions regarding the need for action on climate change: “progressive unions need to join forces with progressive environmental groups,” he said.

Speaking to the IEU's Newsmonth after the conference, Mundey, 79, said he was still an active environmental campaigner and lifelong member of the Australian Conservation Foundation. The Croydon Park resident has also been named a ‘national treasure’ by the National Trust.

Mundey became a household name in the 1970s when his Union, the Builder’s Labourer’s Federation, instituted green bans, which saved much of Sydney’s heritage buildings and green spaces. The Rocks would not look like they do today if it wasn’t for green bans.

Green jobs promotion

Another conference speaker Professor Frank Stilwell, a political economist at Sydney University, said it was important for trade unionists to actively promote ‘green job' creation and he said he was pleased the ACTU was starting to put pressure on governments to invest in new technology.

“We need energetic involvement from trade unions, as it is time to change political practices,” Professor Stilwell said.

Holistic approach

Dr Mark Diesendorf, of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of NSW, said both the economic crisis and the environmental crisis could be tackled as one “if we’re smart”.

“The fixation on endless growth in past decades has contributed to both problems,” Professor Diesendorf said.

“This desire has shaped our lax regulation of the market, causing instability, and created demands on the environment for more land and resources, which are impossible on a finite planet.

“We need a new approach.”