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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital
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Hello!
This week kicks off with strikes across the autos industry in the Americas as the United Auto Workers (UAW) union takes action at Chrysler-parent Stellantis’s largest assembly plant in Detroit, United States on Monday, whilst Metalworkers at Brazilian plants of General Motors have voted to go on strike in protest against layoffs.
The UAW, which is striking at the three big Detroit automakers, blamed the latest walkout by 6,800 workers at the Michigan plant on Stellantis having the “worst proposal” on the table on wage increases, temporary worker pay and conversion to full time status as well as cost-of-living adjustments.
The union said another 6,800 workers at a Michigan truck plant are going on strike at Stellantis because the company has the “worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay and conversion to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments and more.”
What’s on my radar today:
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Striking United Auto Workers (UAW) members from the General Motors Lansing Delta Plant picket in Delta Township, Michigan U.S. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
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More than 40,000 union members working at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis are now on strike since the walkouts began on Sept. 15 – about 27% of the Detroit Three automakers’ total workforce – part of an unusual campaign of simultaneous strikes.
Stellantis officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The union has demanded a 40% wage hike, including a 20% immediate increase, improvements in benefits, as well as covering electric vehicle (EV) battery plant workers under union agreements.
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The UAW and the automakers are also bargaining over future wages and unionization policies for electric vehicle battery plants planned by joint ventures of the automakers and their South Korean battery partners.
UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday warned of more walkouts at U.S. truck and SUV factories unless the automakers improved wage and benefit offers, insisting companies could afford more than the record packages on the table.
Fain has acknowledged some UAW members want to vote on the offers in hand but last week urged them not to give in to “fear, uncertainty, doubt and division” sowed by the companies. He also told members the talks were nearing an end.
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The General Dynamics agreement
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Speaking of union talks nearing an end, the UAW and General Dynamics reached a tentative agreement over a new labor contract covering hundreds of workers at some of the U.S. defense contractor’s facilities, the company said, staving off a potential strike.
Earlier this month, over 1,000 UAW members in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania plants had voted to authorize a strike after a four-year agreement was set to expire on Oct. 22, 11.59 pm ET.
UAW members at the company make military vehicles including tanks and light armored vehicles, according to the union.
UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Details of the proposed agreement, which needs to be ratified by UAW workers, were not immediately available.
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Elsewhere, metalworkers at Brazilian plants of General Motors have voted to go on strike starting Monday in protest against layoffs carried out by the U.S.-based automaker in the country, according to a union that represents them.
The strike for an “indefinite period of time” happens as GM announced it was reducing the workforce at its three factories in Sao Paulo state after a drop in sales and exports, a move it dubbed “necessary” for its sustainability.
“The plant will only resume production after the job cuts are canceled and job stability is guaranteed for everyone,” the union said in a statement, arguing that the company had agreed to provide stability for employees until May 2024.
GM did not immediately comment on the strike but confirmed the layoffs.
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An aerial view shows cattle on a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
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- The world is moving too slowly to meet pledges to end deforestation by 2030, with the destruction worsening in 2022, according to a report by a coalition of environmental organizations.
- The West Antarctic Ice Sheet will continue to melt this century regardless of how much the world slashes planet-warming emissions, research from the British Antarctic Survey has found, locking in further sea level rise over the coming decades.
- Two Texas jurisdictions will consider measures this week to outlaw the act of transporting another person along their roads for an abortion, part of a strategy by conservative activists to further restrict abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Read more on the case here.
- Tens of thousands of Icelandic women, including the prime minister, are expected to strike from paid and unpaid jobs on Tuesday in a protest against gender inequality, according to labor unions.
- Companies including Nestle, Unilever, Mahindra Group and Volvo Cars are urging political leaders to agree to a timeline at the upcoming U.N. climate summit to phase out fossil fuels. Click here for more information about the letter published by 131 companies on their COP28 expectations.
- Countries are deadlocked over how to design a fund to help countries recover and rebuild from climate change-driven damage, with just over 30 days left before crucial United Nations climate negotiations kick off in Dubai.
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David Palmer, market intelligence partner and future skills expert at UK-based professional education company BPP, said:
“Green skills are no longer a nice-to-have – they have quickly become a necessity for business, considering ambitious net zero targets and dynamic climate policies.
“However, with companies now recognizing the importance of sustainability and ESG, the demand for green skilled workers is quickly outstripping supply.
“Findings from LinkedIn’s recently published Global Green Skills Report 2023 revealed a staggering 15.2% rise in green job postings worldwide compared to last year. Employers must therefore begin cultivating green skills within their workforce, equipping staff with the tools to meet the business’ present and future green needs.
“The priority should be ensuring people from all backgrounds can access green jobs, to expand the talent pool and bring people with a wider range of experiences into the new green economy.
“Professional apprenticeships designed to give professionals a solid grounding in sustainability and work-based experience at the same time are key to delivering this green transformation in our workforce. In the same vein, professional apprenticeships can be used to upskill staff in sustainability.
“So, regardless of whether a job is considered ‘directly green’, everyone would be better equipped with an understanding of sustainability.
“But the onus isn’t just on businesses to develop green skills. To create a wider pipeline of early green talent, there’s a responsibility on the government to review and enhance green training pathways to provide young people with an early understanding of green careers and give them the confidence and skills needed to move into an entry-level role.”
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Breakingviews: Green subsidies can help fight climate change but are fiscally unsustainable. Regulations can be politically unfeasible, while doing nothing is ecologically untenable. Carbon taxes raise cash, some of which can be used to ease the public backlash.
Click here for an opinion piece on carbon prices from Hugo Dixon, commentator-at-large for Reuters and founding chair and editor-in-chief of Breakingviews.
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Wagons filled with iron ore enter Rio Tinto’s railyard near Karratha, 1,250 kilometres (777 miles) northeast of Perth, Australia. REUTERS/Melanie Burton
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It’s all about sustainable innovation in today’s spotlight as Rio Tinto maps out low carbon raw materials in Australia, while Japan and Denmark form an agreement on advancing floating offshore wind power technology.
In the red, dusty outback of the Pilbara in Western Australia, the world’s biggest iron ore miner Rio Tinto is preparing for a low carbon future as it maps out new sources of the raw material to ship to the world’s steelmaking industry.
Rio Tinto’s newest mine, Gudai-darri, has ramped up production over the past year to play a key role in its plans to hit record production, while it halves carbon emissions from its own operations by 2030.
Seen from the air, Gudai-darri sits amid scrubland and rocky outcrops winding through the outback that is home to the shelters and aquifers that have been part of the lives of Indigenous Australians for tens of thousands of years.
Rio Tinto hosted media to Gudai-darri’s mine, plant and 34 megawatt solar farm last week, as well as its Dampier port and rail operations. It showed off its newest automation, including self-driving water trucks that dampen dusty roads and a robot that checks on a 5 km (3 miles) iron-ore conveyor belt for preventative maintenance.
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The turbines at Orsted’s offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark. REUTERS/Tom Little
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Japan and Denmark are set to join hands in researching and developing floating offshore wind power technologies in a bid to combat climate change, an official at Japan’s industry ministry said.
The nascent floating offshore wind industry is poised for explosive growth in the coming decade as countries strive to cut their carbon emissions.
Many details have yet to be decided but the two countries will likely discuss spearheading the creation of de facto global standards for the industry, the official said. The letter of intent will be signed by Japan’s trade and industry ministry and the Danish climate and energy ministry, the official added.
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“The issue of living wages is now more relevant than ever. The cost-of-living crisis has shown what decades of poverty wages result in; workers being at immediate risk of not being able to provide basic needs for themselves and their families.”
Mario Ivekovic, president of labor union Novi Sindikat, Croatia
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- Oct. 25, Singapore: Singapore kicks off the annual Singapore International Energy Week with a series of conferences looking at issues such as energy security and the transition from clean power and fuels. Speakers include officials from Southeast Asia, the International Energy Agency, energy companies and financial institutions.
- Oct. 25, Tokyo, Japan: Japan’s supreme court will make a landmark judgment on whether a law forcing surgery on citizens who want to change their legal gender status is unconstitutional.
- Oct. 26, Oslo, Norway: The Norwegian parliament discusses the government’s proposal to open about 280,000 square km (108,000 square miles) of ocean areas between Jan Mayen island and the Svalbard archipelago for deep-sea mining.
- Oct. 26, Washington D.C., United States: Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, participates in a discussion in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about his agency’s plans to mandate climate-related disclosures from publicly traded companies.
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