Too much justice, too little transition? Exploring approaches to just transition in the Norwegian trade union movement

Abstract

This thesis explores one of the main concepts advanced by the Norwegian trade union movement when engaging with climate politics: The concept of just transition. Just transition is commonly understood as a framework of normative principles for ensuring that transitions towards a green economy are socially just. As the concept has origins in the labour movement, just transition is often expressed as a concept which aims to represent and secure workers’ interests in the transition to a low-emission society. However, a common observation in the academic literature is that the term’s proliferation has resulted in just transition becoming a ‘multi-faceted’ term with variable interpretations. In turn, the specific ways in which just transition is interpreted implies different justice concerns, policy concerns, measures and climate-political strategies. The thesis therefore seeks to explore how the concept of just transition is understood and interpreted in the Norwegian trade union movement, by exploring how the concept is approached and used by Norway’s four main trade union confederations: LO, YS, Unio and Akademikerne. Furthermore, the concept has recently been institutionalised in the Norwegian context through the Council for Just Transition—a tripartite dialogue platform which hosts discussions between Norway’s tripartite social partners on the consequences of climate policies and green transitions on the Norwegian world of work. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with central informants from each trade union confederation, in addition to document research on the Council for Just Transition, the thesis explores how just transition is interpreted and approached in the Council for Just Transition and among the Norwegian trade union confederations. The thesis’ analysis suggests that the focus of just transition in the Norwegian context is highly process-oriented, focused on social dialogue and tripartism, and closely linked to the established features and practices of the Norwegian model’s integrative corporatism. In turn, the thesis engages in a critical discussion of whether this constitutes a proactive and transformative approach to climate politics, capable of facilitating rapid and ambitious climate action.