Energy Transition's Impact on EU Gas Workers in Focus

European gas association Eurogas and various labour organisations held a meeting on October 28 to discuss the role gas will play in a decarbonised European economy and the impact of the energy transition on gas workers.

The meeting marks the resumption of a sectoral social dialogue, involving talks and joint actions between those representing employers and workers, Eurogas said. The process is backed by the European Commission, also involves European trade union federations, global union federation IndustriALL and the EPSU, the European federation of public service unions.

 “The gas sector is currently at a major turning point. It must reinvent itself to be part of the decarbonisation strategy currently shaped by the European institutions,” Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU’s general secretary, commented. “These evolutions must be anticipated in order to avoid any negative consequences and to offer clear perspectives to the workers.”

“Returning to a genuine social dialogue with the European employers in the gas sector comes at a crucial point in the discussion about the EU’s long-term decarbonisation strategy,”  Luc Triangle, the general secretary of industriALL Europe added. “At present, there are many uncertainties regarding the future role of gas and what place renewable gas and hydrogen will take in the economy. Social partners must jointly anticipate change and offer clear perspectives to workers!”

“Natural gas can deliver on the EU’s decarbonisation efforts towards 2030, while increased volumes of renewable and decarbonised gases will be indispensable in meeting the 2050 EU climate targets,” Eurogas secretary general James Watson noted.  “I am confident that our work with the trade unions and the European Commission will provide industrial and employment opportunities for the workers of the EU and set the pace for European leadership in clean energy technologies.”