Dinga Sikwebu: South African workers' movement for climate justice

For several years, worker unions and civil society groups in South Africa worked on a radical vision for a genuine, just green transition away from fossil fuels towards climate-friendly energy pathways. Dinga Sikwebu, long-time trade unionist and activist (including 25 years at the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa), describes a process he was at the heart of, and the current low phase it is in. In conversation with Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh and Global Tapestry of Alternatives, at WITS University, Johannesburg, 15 March 2023.

[@cassimsuleman5641]

Even the rich are affected by air pollution
A major problem for population growth is that of employment..they depend on the economy..
In s africa there is not enough jobs to sustain the wirker numbers.
Unions should concentrate on that instead of frivolous climate change issues..

[@ashishkothari5190]

Millions of people are already losing their livelihoods (not to mention lives and homes) due to climate crisis, so for you to call it 'frivolous' is terribly insensitive. What Dinga and others have worked on as the Climate Justice Charter is about pathways of dealing both with climate crisis as also creating lots more new jobs; all assessments show that a transition to renewable energy, for instance, can create many more jobs than those in the fossil fuel industry, which anyway is going to be have to be phased out sooner or later. Any strategy pitting work against environment is outdated, and Dinga and others show that there is no contradiction between the two.