Coal-exit commission must prioritise affected workers’ jobs – union president

Germany’s recently-formed coal-exit commission must take into account the jobs of those employed in the coal sector, said Michael Vassiliadis, president of the mining, chemical, and energy industry union IC BGE, in an interview with Tagesspiegel Background. “It is important to me that no one loses his job due to political decisions,” added Vassiliadis, who serves on the commission. If a coal-exit date is specified, coal miners will inevitably lose their jobs, he said, stressing that the quality of jobs in other industries in which they could work must be the same. Comparing the protection of workers in the clean energy sector to that in the lignite industry, he warned that “When you look at the renewables sector, there are often no nationwide collective agreements.”

Find the article (behind paywall) in German here.

For background, read the article Commission watch – Managing Germany’s coal phase-out and the factsheets Coal in Germany and Germany’s coal exit commission.