13 August 2025

Climate justice is workers' justice

Leading to this year's celebration of International Youth Day, on 31 July, thirty young workers from six global union affiliates (BWI, IUF, ITF, PSI, IFJ, IndustriAll) held a workshop entitled "Climate Justice for Workers' Justice." This workshop was a collaboration among the global unions, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), and the People's Alliance for Climate Justice (ARUKI). YLBHI and ARUKI are currently intervening in the process of drafting the Climate Justice Bill, which is presently on the Indonesian Parliament's national legislative list.

 Zainal Arifin, Head of the YLBHI Network and Advocacy, stated that the meeting with young workers from the global unions was intended to obtain substantive input from workers. "Workers will be impacted by climate change, so they must speak up and voice their concerns," he said. Ismaryana, a young worker member of SERBUK Indonesia, stated that workers are a vulnerable group that will be impacted by climate change and various government policies. "The most minimal impact is work-related illnesses and work accidents, the number of which is increasing," said Ana. According to her, government policies have not addressed the plight of workers, and workers are currently vulnerable to job losses and wage cuts due to various factors, including the weather.

 Representing ARUKI, Dewi Puspa, stated that the campaign launched by Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) is relevant to ARUKI's efforts to intervene in the legislative process in parliament. "The Too Hot to Work campaign is crucial because it will target multiple stakeholder sectors," he explained. ARUKI will hold a Climate Justice Summit on August 26-28, 2025, in Jakarta, involving 1,000 participants