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TUED Bulletin 150 – Mexican energy unions welcome shutdown of key neoliberal institutions

The Mexican government has proposed a package of 20 reforms, including the dissolution of two energy sector autonomous bodies (the focus of this bulletin) from the power and hydrocarbons sector. In doing so, the government has taken another significant step to roll back the neoliberal reforms that sought to hand over the country’s energy system to private companies. ‍

‍Power is Coming Back to the People

On August 23rd 2024, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that proposes the dissolution of the Energy Regulatory Commission (La Comisión Reguladora de Energía–CRE). This body was set up in the early 1990s to prevent the national public utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) from impeding the entry of for-profit independent power producers (IPPs) into the country’s electricity system. Several other neoliberal-era bodies are also likely to be shut down, including the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE). President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) introduced the reform bill in February 2024, and it will now proceed to the Senate.

Established in many Global South countries under neoliberal structural adjustment of the 1990s, so-called independent regulators have been a central feature of the World Bank’s “standard model” of electricity privatisation. In Mexico, a succession of right-wing administrations enthusiastically embraced the Bank’s proposed reforms, and empowered CRE to increase the presence of private power generation companies (known as independent power producers, or IPPs) 

‍Right-Wing and Business Groups Protest 

‍Angered by the likely dissolution of CRE, in recent weeks the Mexican right-wing and business groups have condemned the initiative claiming it is inconsistent with Mexico’s climate commitments made under the Paris Agreement. The right is trying to depict AMLO’s policy as one that’s hostile to renewables while favouring fossil fuels. 

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) mentioned that the reform could negatively affect clean energy development and strain trade relations between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican Wind Energy Association (AMDEE) warned that this reform would halt investments in the wind industry for at least the next two years. But it’s quite the opposite: the shutdown of CRE creates space to help fulfil the government’s commitment to accelerate the energy transition. Limiting the role of the IPPs while expanding the role of the public utility CFE allows for the deployment of low-carbon energy and reduced dependency on imported fossil fuels (particularly gas) to proceed on a public basis while attempting to repair the damage inflicted on Mexico’s energy sovereignty by previous administrations. 

There is speculation that the Biden administration will request an independent dispute settlement panel under the USMCA. In March 2023, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai hinted at possible escalation during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. 

‍CRE’s Record: Serving Private Capital 

‍Formed in 1993, under the administration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, CRE was populated by enforcers loyal to the neoliberal agenda designed by the World Bank and the IMF.  

CRE approved power purchase agreements (PPAs) with IPPs that involved CFE having to purchase electricity at high prices. During this period, most of the IPPs were multinationals based in the US, Spain, and Japan that purchased shale gas from the US, thus increasing Mexico’s dependence on fossil fuel imports and helping to sustain the lucrative fracking boom north of the border. 

Between 2013-2014, President Peña Nieto’s administration made more than twenty legislative changes and three amendments to the Mexican Constitution to facilitate more private sector ownership of the power sector. Operating under Peña Nieto’s orders, CRE approved a large number of PPAs with wind and solar companies, allowing the administration to declare itself a champion of climate protection.

‍Ruthless Inefficiency and AMLO’s Reclaiming 

Elected by a large margin (31% difference) in 2018, President López Obrador criticised CRE for issuing too many contracts to IPPs. On July 22, 2020, AMLO sent a memorandum to CRE officials. Referring to Peña Nieto’s reform as a “policy of pillage,” AMLO wrote, “We soon learned the result of this robbery and its corresponding deception: nothing was gained by the nation, everything was translated into lucrative business for private companies and corrupt politicians. . . It is time to correct the course of the policy of surrender that has been imposed on the energy sector.” 

In October 2020 then Energy Minister Rocío Nahle García made a three-hour presentation to Mexico’s Senate where she pointed out that CRE had issued PPAs that would generate electricity far in excess of what Mexico actually needed. However, CFE was contractually obligated to pay for the excess power under 25-year PPAs, financially crippling the utility.

Recently elected with 59.5% of the vote, incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum has declared that her administration will continue to strengthen CFE, and defend energy sovereignty as a central objective of her government. With a supermajority in Congress, there is speculation that Sheinbaum will take steps to repeal Peña Nieto’s 2013 amendment to the Mexican constitution that permitted private ownership of the power sector and other strategic industries. 

If this happens, it will mark another important milestone in Mexico’s effort to chart a public approach to the energy transition that a growing number of unions are committed to supporting. 

 Electrical Workers’ Union Supports CRE’s Disappearance 

The Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union (SME), José Humberto Montes de Oca Luna, published an important statement on SME’s response to the proposed reform. “The disappearance of the CRE represents a hard blow to the neoliberals and their privatisation policies. There will be no turning back despite their now futile legal challenges, despite the scandalous media criticism from corporations and international capitalists who lament the end of the plundering of our country,” said José Humberto Montes de Oca Luna.

Montes de Oca explained that the CRE facilitated private participation in the electricity sector under “perversely advantageous conditions”. “The public sector Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) assumed most of the financial risk of private investments while, by buying energy in bulk from the corporations, it guaranteed high revenues for the private sector through long-term payment commitments at fixed prices, whether or not their electricity was sold,” he said. 

Moving forward, “all indications are that the 4T under the new political conditions will be able, without reservations, to pass it [energy sector reform] as formulated by AMLO or even go further. Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum is expected to give a strong push to the energy transition to clean energy,” he said. 

‍The Hydrocarbon Sector: Oil Workers’ Perspective 

In addition to the dissolution of the CRE, “Plan C” includes the proposed elimination of six other autonomous bodies, including the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), installed in 2009 under former president Felipe Calderon. A few years later, the 2013 constitutional energy reforms of Peña Nieto strengthened the CNH by approving additional powers to enter into contracts and carry out bids in energy matters. 

“For the oil technicians and professionals of the UNTyPP it is clear that the National Hydrocarbons Commission, CNH, together with the Energy Regulatory Commission, was an instrument for the privatisation of our company Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX),” said Silvia Ramos Luna, leader of the PEMEX engineers union (UNTyPP). 

Ramos Luna explained: “The work carried out by the CNH fulfilled its objective of advancing the privatisation of PEMEX, of all the activities it developed perhaps the most important were the rounds for the delivery of the oil fields, it designed a programme for the delivery of 507 oil fields and managed to deliver 107, this delivery of our heritage was stopped with the arrival of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who on 3 December 2018, when another round was to be carried out it was suspended, to this day no more rounds have been carried out. Not to mention that the sale of pipelines and storage tanks was also stopped.”

“We strongly support the disappearance of the CNH,” she said.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

Read more TUED Bulletins here.

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TUED Bulletin 149 – South unions launch Asia Pacific effort to build a Public Pathway in the region 

TUED 149 - Group of people holding placards

Over 50 union leaders from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and South Korea gathered in Bali, Indonesia to share analysis on their respective countries’ energy transition, exchange experiences, and build strategies towards building the Public Pathway approach in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting’s organisational goals, political objectives, and key questions are summarised here. 

Last week, in Bulletin 148, we summarised the results of a series of July workshops in Jakarta organised by TUED, PSI, and PSI affiliates and allies in the week leading up to the Bali meeting. These workshops are part of a national trade union effort to defend public energy against the threat posed by the “privatise to decarbonise” agenda reflected in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between the rich countries and the Indonesian government. 

This week, we review the results, proposals, and next steps following the regional policy meeting in Bali. For participant bios, presentations, and multimedia, view the “Post-Meeting Package” here. The Bali meeting was the third of its kind, following two previous TUED South regional policy meetings for Sub-Saharan Africa (Johannesburg, May 2023) and Latin America and the Caribbean (Bogotá, May 2024). 

Regional Policy Meetings and Development Position Papers

A central goal of the Bali meeting was to support unions in the development of positions and (potentially) initiatives and campaigns to advance the public pathway approach in the A-P region in ways that are realistic and appropriate.  A related short-term task to develop a clear position on the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) and similar “privatise to decarbonise” initiatives. TUED has already developed a preliminary critique of the JETPs, but more detailed work is necessary. 

As part of the TUED Women’s Leadership for a Public Pathway initiative, sessions focused on a feminist approach to the energy transition were incorporated into each day of the meeting leading to gender based discussions and references throughout the three days. A forthcoming bulletin will highlight this work.  

Throughout the meeting, participants agreed on and reiterated the strategic importance and political urgency of developing more in-depth trade union position papers on the energy transition within and across national contexts as a means of building confidence in the viability of the public pathway alternative.  

Indonesian unions are currently working with TUED to develop a position paper on the energy transition that focuses on the country’s power sector. The position paper explains what’s wrong with the current policy and what an alternative could look like.
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Alternative Financing in the Public Pathway

The financing session in Bali helped elevate collective analysis around unions’ grappling with the details and challenges of alternative finance models. The Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), a regional alliance of groups working for economic justice, put forward a proposal to put forward a regional trade union statement at the COP29 meeting, also known as “the finance COP”,  in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. 

Dr. Fadhel Kaboub, policy advisor and President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, discussed neocolonial wealth extraction and structural trade imbalance. “If we don’t have a long-term strategic vision for ourselves, we’ll continue to be part of someone else’s strategic vision,” he said. Corporate and neocolonial interests underlie mainstream “climate finance”. Trade unions need a structural transformation (not reform) of the Global Financial Architecture. “The OECD has made clear that nobody in the Global South can industrialise without their approval.  The current climate finance framework is not going to deliver any meaningful climate action. Global South unity and a publicly-Funded system are within reach,” said Dr. Kaboub

Proposal for a Working Group: Managed Decline of Coal 

Participants identified the economic dependency on coal as one of the region’s leading challenges. Following discussions on the issue, participants proposed the development of a regional working group intended to address target obstacles and opportunities for the managed decline of coal. The working group, it was suggested, could also exchange experiences with unions in other coal-producing countries from the Global South such as South Africa and Colombia. 

Ashim Roy, General Secretary of the India Workers Peasants Council (Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat – HMKP) and co-founding member of TUED, led the discussion on the proposal. “Having studied the coal dependent energy system that drives Indian economic development and the complexities to decarbonize, the pathway to just transition is both a complex  and deeply contested political field,” he said. “We require a space for shared learning from the specific field of coal transition. At the meeting in Bali, I proposed a Just Transition working group for unions from countries on the coal value chain and/or with economies dependent on coal-based energy systems. TUED South is a much-needed platform to bring us together as labour movement actors of the Asia-Pacific region. TUED rightly foregrounds the public pathway as the appropriate framework for these complex and challenging discussions,” Roy added. 

Several presentations by trade union leaders focused on public transport campaigns, especially those in informal transportation systems (such as those based on the tuk-tuk, jeepney, angkot, etc). Ajay Kumar of the Nepal Transport Workers Union (NETWON), a union-affiliate of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), stressed the importance of reclaiming and strengthening publicly-owned transportation systems based on accessibility and quality of service, not based on profit. Kumar presented on NETWON workers’ efforts to organise for public electric mobility through policy pressure.


Country-Specific Analysis

Country-specific analysis helped participants draw parallels and identify patterns in the region. Comrades from Nepal talked about the contradictions of the energy system, which is majority publicly-owned but interfaces with the Indian market. Currently, Nepal exports clean energy during periods of high generation and imports dirty energy at a high cost during periods of drought. 

Mozibor Rahman, General Secretary of PBBSKU (Paschimanchal Bidyut Bitaran Sramik Karmachari Union) of Bangladesh, led a call for regional trade union solidarity with the movement for worker democracy in Bangladesh. Following the resignation of former Primer Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, PBBSKU comrades said “The students have finally won. The dictatorial, murderous prime minister has resigned and fled. The fight for economic justice and worker democracy continues.” Edward Miller, a researcher at the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR) suggested to TUED on the social media platform X: “I hope we can seize upon this moment to reform the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, a World Bank imposition that is riddled with corruption and denies workers the right to organise. Workers and consumers deserve better!” 

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Next Steps

In Bali, Nepalese comrades advanced proposals for the region’s next policy meeting. “During the successful Bali meeting, the Nepalese unions gathered and agreed to put forward a proposal to host the second regional Asia Pacific meeting in 2025/2026 in Kathmandu. Our unions in Nepal have been following TUED’s work closely for several years and we are committed to helping build a regionally-coordinated Public Pathway,” said Ajay Kumar Rai, Executive General Secretary of the Nepal Trade Union Congress (National Centre) and chief advisor of NETWON and the head of the foreign affairs department.

Moving forward, TUED South plans to organise quarterly regional meetings for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. The meetings will allow unions to update one another on developments, including campaigns and initiatives. 
‍

Welcome New TUED Unions! 

At the Bali meeting, a number of unions from the Asia-Pacific region announced their decision to participate in the TUED network. We’d like to welcome the following unions from the region: 

  • Philippines: Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (Solidarity of Filipino Workers)
  • Nepal: Nepal Agriculture Workers’ Union
  • Indonesia: Gabungan Serikat Buruh Indonesia (GSBI)
  • Indonesia: Persatuan Pegawai PT PLN Indonesia Power (PP-IP) 

Several unions have recently joined the TUED network, as a result of TUED South’s regional meetings.. An upcoming bulletin will take a closer look at these unions. Overall, trade union support for the Public Pathway is rising and becoming more visible–especially in the Global South.  
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Unions Say Why They Are Joining TUED:  

Andy Wijaya, General Secretary of PP-IP (Indonesia):  

“We are joining TUED because we want to fight together to ensure that electricity stays in control of the state and to ensure it is a public good. The Public Pathway is very important in the Just Transition and it matches with the principle of our national Constitution that national vital resources must be controlled by the state. We will spread the TUED fight to other trade unions in Indonesia. Workers need to coordinate and stand together to ensure electricity remains and is strengthened as a public good. The Public Pathway scheme is what makes this possible.” 

Emelia Yanti Siahaan, General Secretary, Gabungan Serikat Buruh Indonesia (GSBI): 

“A just transition is a class struggle. This means it requires the participation and involvement of Labor and the public to realize a just transition.  Without a strong class struggle, a just transition is just a fraud.” 

Luke Espiritu, President, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (Solidarity of Filipino Workers):  

“We must have a just transition that does not leave anyone behind, especially the workers. The transition must not be pursued for the benefit of the ruling class. That is why energy must be democratised.” 

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

Read more TUED Bulletins here.

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TUED Bulletin 141 – Indonesia: TUED Supports Unions in Constitutional Court Battle to Stop “JETP” Energy Privatisation

Broad coalition organises to defend public energy clause in Indonesian Constitution, oppose pro-privatisation electricity reforms.

Following yesterday’s elections in Indonesia, we turn to the country’s energy sector and the Indonesian labor movement’s fight to defend public energy against the threat posed by the “privatise to decarbonise” agenda reflected in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between the rich countries and the Indonesian government.  

TUED and the Indonesian Energy Unions 

In mid-January 2024, TUED supported a broad coalition of trade unions, academics and public figures that petitioned Indonesia’s Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the electricity sector reform provisions in Law Number 6 of 2023.  

Known as GEKANAS, the coalition’s petition reflected concerns that the new law would lead to the “unbundling” of PLN, the public power utility, and increase the role of the for-profit independent power producers (IPPs.) The coalition’s effort is supported by power sector unions, namely:  

  • PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) or SP PLN
  • Indonesia Power or PP IP, 
  • The PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali

Article 33 of Indonesia’s Constitution states that the country’s vital resources should be controlled by the Indonesian state. Appearing as an expert witness before the Court in Jakarta, TUED coordinator Sean Sweeney drew attention to the “privatise to decarbonise” agenda embedded in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) between the rich countries and Indonesia. This, suggested Sweeney, lies behind the energy provisions of Law Number 6 which, he said, would “eviscerate Article 33.” A video of Sweeney’s intervention Constitutional Court is available here.

Strings Attached 

Sweeney told the court that JETP financing from rich countries comes with strings attached, as seen in the South African case. Announced in November 2021, the JETP with South Africa, the first of its kind, set the tone. It states that financing would be contingent upon unbundling of the public utility, Eskom. The JETP statement between the rich countries and the Government of Indonesia called for a “clear strategy for private sector engagement,” detailing “policy reforms necessary to address any regulatory barriers.”  

In November 2022, at the G20 Summit in Bali, a group of developed countries—led by the US and Japan—pledged to mobilize US$20 billion over the next 3-5 years to accelerate Indonesia’s energy transition through early retirement of coal power plants and deployment of renewable energy. Currently, the public utility PLN generates about 65% of the country’s electricity, down from 92% in 1990. The presence of IPPs has grown to 35% of generation. The JETP is designed to accelerate the growth of the for-profit IPPs. 

In Indonesia’s case, the utility PLN is encouraging the growth of IPPs as seen in the PLN’s Electricity Power Supply Business Plan (RUPTL), 2021–2030, from October 2021. The World Bank and its regional Asia Development Bank (ADB) “will simultaneously target pioneering large-scale RE and storage (RE+Storage) projects led by the private sector that will aim to serve demand both in grid-connected and captive power contexts.” 

Why would PLN wish to further undermine its position in the power sector? The RUPTL notes that the World Bank and ADB is “preparing a results-based lending (RBL) program to support PLN in accelerating Indonesia’s clean energy transition.”  Periodic loan disbursements will be contingent upon “satisfactory performance.” The ADB partnership with the Government of Indonesia notes that “ADB support will center on policy reforms toward stronger energy sector governance, clean energy and energy efficiency, and private sector participation, while the investment focus will be on sustainable power generation, power transmission systems, and electricity grids.”

The JETP, Article 33, and Private Sector Participation 

The designers of the JETP with Indonesia do not want to explicitly confront Article 33, said Sweeney, but the innocuous language of Law No 6, allows for private sector “participation” in the electricity system will allow this objective to be achieved via the “back door.” Read the official court press release on Sweeney’s intervention. 

In his written submission to the Court, Sweeney stated that by 2030, PLN’s role will be reduced to being mainly a buyer of electricity (as the “off-taker”) from privately owned generators. This would mean the state would no longer have control over its electricity system. 

Released in late November 2023, the Indonesia JETP Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan, explicitly states: “A PPA [power purchase agreement] should not be treated by its contracting parties as a procurement of a ‘project’ or an ‘asset’ that PLN would eventually own but rather as a procurement of electrons.” In other words, electricity will no longer be seen as a public good generated for human development and nation-building; rather, electricity will become a commodity that PLN is legally obligated to purchase from private companies.

Sweeney’s submission also provided data that pointed to the failure of the “blended finance” model that informs the JETP. The $20 billion dollar JETP package would add to the country’s debt obligations while leaving Indonesia to find an additional $97 billion to finance the transition away from coal. 

Public Pathway as an Alternative to JETPs

Sweeney then explained that Indonesia and other coal-dependent countries in the Global South could pursue an alternative “public pathway” approach where state control and public financing can be the drivers of economy wide decarbonisation based on prudent energy planning within a framework of global public goods.
 
The need for this policy shift is made evident in the data on global energy trends, he said. These trends indicate that we are witnessing an energy transition, but an energy expansion. Fossil fuel use is rising, not falling. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) also continue to rise, making the Paris Agreement targets almost meaningless in the short term.

Indonesian Trade Unions Fight Back

The Indonesian labor movement and its allies continue to organize in defense of Article 33 and PLN’s role as the principal energy provider. 

On January 17th, roughly 60 union leaders gathered for a discussion on “ Lessons Learned from the Privatisation of Electricity around the World” – and the Public Pathway alternative. 

Said Andy Wijaya, the General Secretary of Persatuan Pegawai Indonesia Power: “Once I was told by a Parliament member that if a State-Owned Company is privatized, the wage would increase sevenfold. I said that currently I am working in PT PLN, and I am paid. But there is no guarantee that my children, my family will be able to get a job at PT PLN that is also well-paid, just like me. Especially if PLN is privatized. I will feel very guilty if in the future, our children will have to pay expensive electricity price because PLN is privatized and I don’t do anything to stop it.” 

“Public sector unions play a pivotal role for social justice and public energy that improves people’s lives. Therefore, we need to stay strong in defending public services with pure vigour and use all our powers as unions to keep public energy and services in the hands of the public. Our work with affiliates in Indonesia is to fight againts privatisations and towards a Public Pathway alternative that democratises public services,” said Indah Budiarti, Project Coordinator of the PSI Southeast Asia Office and based in Indonesia. Read Budiarti’s insightful article, “Analyzing the Dynamics of Indonesian Energy: Between Government’s Subsidy, Privatization, and Ecological Sustainability”.

In solidarity,
The TUED Team

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

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TUED Bulletin 137 – Updates on TUED South & Discussion on Position Paper “Reclaim & Restore” Public Utilities to Fight Energy Poverty

RSVP and join TUED on Wednesday, August 16th, 0800 – 0930 Eastern US to discuss: Reclaim and Restore: Preparing a Public Pathway to Address Energy Poverty and Energy Transition in sub-Saharan Africa.

Reclaim and Restore

In mid-May 2023, unions from 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) came together in Johannesburg to lay the groundwork for a public pathway approach to addressing the challenge of energy poverty in the region.  

Convened by TUED South, the 3-day meeting discussed a draft position paper that brings to light the abject failure of neoliberal approaches to addressing energy poverty in the region. 

Focusing on the World Bank, the paper describes how the Bank’s structural adjustment agenda of the 1990s targeted public utilities and redirected financial support to for-profit independent power producers (IPPs). The results have been devastating. Today half of the region’s population (roughly 600 million people) have no electricity, 70% in rural regions. 

The document has been updated and is available here. It advocates for a “reclaim and restore” approach to energy utilities so they can begin to repair the damage of the past 30 years. 

We will first hear from TUED unions based in Namibia, Uganda, South Africa, and Kenya. View the draft program here. 

Please RSVP for the Global Forum here. Interpretation will be provided in English, French, and Spanish. 

New TUED Union: Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU).  Welcome IEU! 

The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU) represents over 75,000 workers in non-government schools and institutions across Australia. Learn about IEU’s work on their website and Twitter (X). 

In solidarity,
The TUED Team

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

Read more TUED Bulletins here.

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TUED Bulletin 128 – Brazilian Unions Call for Renationalization of Energy, Reversing Bolsonaro Privatizations

The 2023-2026 Governing Plan of Lula 

While policies are still taking shape in Lula’s new administration, we can ground our analysis on the 2023-2026 governing plan, published in mid-2022 during the electoral campaign by Lula and his centre-right running mate, Alckmin. Of the document’s 120 points, four points (75-78)  specifically reflect energy policy commitments: support for energy sovereignty, opposition to ongoing privatization measures for Petrobras and Electrobras, and increasing the energy mix with renewables. 

Trade Unions Demands

Electrobras underwent privatisation in 2022 under Bolsonaro, with the federal government’s shares falling from 72 per cent to 43 per cent, and a measure limiting its voting power to 10%. Eletrobras is responsible for 30 per cent of all generation and 45 per cent of transmission in Brazil. Íkaro Chaves, Director of the National Collective of Electricians (CNE), urges, “It is not a popsicle factory; it is a company that provides essential public services to society, and its public control is regulated in the constitution,” adding that Lula “made it clear that the goal is to undo this banditry against the [public ownership] and eventually if conditions are favourable (…)  to re-nationalise”. Reclaiming majority public ownership would require recovering 7% of the shares. CNE has argued for the re-nationalization of Electrobras and recently laid out their demands in an open letter to the Minister of Mines and Energy (MME), Alexandre Silveira. 

This week, members of the CNE also met with the President of the Workers Party, Gleisi Hoffman, to discuss the renationalisation of Eletrobras. In their meeting in Brasilia, the electrical workers emphasized that “defending renationalisation of Electrobras is defending Brazil”.

Petrobras has become a “dividend-paying machine,” according to Oil Workers Federation (FUP). Private shareholders currently hold nearly 65% of Petrobras’ capital, and the company is considered the world’s second-largestdividend payer. Last year, Petrobras produced a record net profit of R$ 188.3 billion in 2022 at the high cost of privatizations and a dramatic reduction of investments in the country. Nearly all profits (R$ 180 billion) went directly to investors. The amount invested in Brazil, about R$ 52 billion or US$10 billion, is 80% below the level of annual investments observed between 2010 and 2013 under PT administrations.

Deyvid Bacelar, Coordinator of FUP, has spoken about the investment crisis and the public pathway alternative, stating, “Petrobrás in recent years has become a dividend-paying machine, transferring to shareholders all the profit obtained from privatizations and abusive fuel prices. We urgently need changes in the pricing policy and to reclaim the state-owned company so that it once again invests in Brazil with long-term policies.”

In a recent interview, he added, “we will have a process of rebuilding what was destroyed by previous governments. It is time for the oil trade union movement to put pressure on our government and the management of President Jean Paul Prates so that what was presented in President Lula’s government program will be put into practice.” 

To organize and prioritize their demands, the Social Observatory of Petroleum, linked to the National Federation of Petroleum Workers (FNP), published a 10-point manifesto, “Petrobras for Brazilians”, including Point 10: “Retake a 100% state-owned Petrobrás, repurchasing its shares – especially those traded on the New York Stock Exchange – and closing its capital. Additionally, reinstate the state monopoly of Oil and Gas.”

Trade Union and Social Movement Platform presents demands to the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME)

The Workers’ and Peasants’ Platform on Water and Energy (POCAE), a coalition of leading trade unions and social movements in Brazil, has published its collective energy transition demands and proposals to the leadership of the MME. 

In the past, MME Minister Silveria opposed privatisation in the energy sector, but unions recognize the need for ongoing pressure from the trade union movement to move him and the new administration toward policy reforms that support a public pathway in energy. The demands made by POCAE to the MME were published in December 2022 in the document “For Energy Sovereignty and Open Prices.” The demands include recovering energy sovereignty, reclaiming Electrobras and privatized parts of Petrobras to the public sector, and instituting policies for the state-led reindustrialization of the energy supply chain. 

According to Fernando Fernandes, coordinator of POCAE, “The leading trade unions and organisations that make up the Workers’ and Peasants’ Platform for Water and Energy have been presenting proposals in the energy and water sectors. Lula was elected with the support of a broad front of diverse social sectors, some of who disagreed with the proposals of the unions and popular movements. In view of this, we have collectively built this document to present our concerns and list some points that we hope will be commitments assumed by a minister of Mines and Energy in Lula’s government,” explained Fernandes. Speaking to POCAE’s priorities in upcoming months, Fernandes asserts, “first, it is necessary to pressure the MME to commit to pro-public energy policies and to reversing the privatisations of public companies, which have worsened the living conditions of the Brazilian people. It is critical to continue to push trade union and organisational demands as well as alternative programs.”

TUED’s Partnership with the City University of New York’s School for Labor and Urban Studies 

Since 2015, the City University of New York’s School for Labor and Urban Studies has contributed critical support for the TUED project. Collaborations with CUNY SLU include the New Labor Forum national journal, the Reinventing Solidarity podcast, support for the 2020 Global Trade Union Assembly, as well as ongoing opportunities to engage with SLU students and its community through public programming and student scholarships. 

“Reinventing Solidarity” Podcast episodes featuring TUED’s work (in English):

On the evening of March 7th, between 7-8 pm ET, CUNY SLU and TUED will co-host a public event titled “Learning from Global South Unions: Student Voices on Climate Action and a Just Energy Transition.” 

Join to learn from SLU students and Trade Unions for Energy Democracy about the launch of TUED South in Africa and upcoming opportunities for students and other activists to learn about climate action and organising with unions globally for a public pathway to a just energy transition. The event will be in English. For the zoom link, please register here. 

In solidarity,

The TUED Team

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

Read more TUED Bulletins here.

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TUED Bulletin 126 – Building the Public Pathway in Chile

Report by Lala Peñaranda, TUED Latin America organizer 

This bulletin includes three sections: (1) a report back from our discussions with Chilean trade unions, (2) a brief summary of Our Future is Public conference, and (3) an invitation to the upcoming December 21st TUED Global Forum. 

In early December, TUED participated in the Our Future is Public conference in Santiago Chile, organized by Public Services International (PSI), the Transnational Institute (TNI), and the Tax Justice Network, among others.  Following the conference, TUED co-organized a strategy session with affiliates of the country’s main trade union body, CUT Chile. 

Meanwhile, momentum is building for the next TUED Global Forum on Wednesday, December 21st, which will focus on Global South experiences and strategies for building a public pathway. The Global Forum will feature union voices from the launch of TUED South which took place last October in Nairobi (See below). Register for the Global Forum here and share the invitation with your union members and allies.   


CUT Chile and TUED Unions Discuss Challenges and Possibilities 

On December 3rd, CUT Chile and TUEDco-organized a strategy session at the historic headquarters of the national center. TUED also engaged in discussions with several CUT affiliates and allies, including energy unions Fentrapech (oil), Constramet (mining), FENATRAMA(public sector), and Santiago Metro workers, among others. We also heard from the Movimiento Litio para Chile, a national coalition of trade unions, academics, and social movements building towards a National Lithium Company and regional coordination of public lithium planning with the governments of Bolivia, Mexico, and Argentina. 

The CUT Chile strategy session (agenda here) was opened by CUT Chile president David Acuña and followed by two thematic sessions. The first focused on regional perspectives from Uruguay, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, and Brazil on the struggle to reclaim public energy. The Chilean perspective was presented by trade union leader Williams Montes of the National Federation of Oil and Related Unions of Chile (FENATRAPECH). The second session focused on building regional support for a public pathway approach to the energy transition, The Chilean perspective was presented by the CUT Chile Environmental Secretariat, Alejandro Ochoa Gaboardi. 

In addition to CUT Chile affiliates, trade union participation included CUT-Brazil, CGT-France, Oilfield Workers Trade Union of Trinidad and Tobago, the Unión Nacional de Técnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros (Untypp), Mexico, as well as the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and Public Services International (PSI). PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli offered PSI’s support for the effort to develop a public pathway approach in Chile, and would seek to engage PSI affiliates in the effort. 
 

The Privatization Laboratory

The country’s economic and social fabric has been seriously damaged as a result of the full-on privatization of public services in Chile that began following the Pinochet coup and was forced through by dictatorship. 

In terms of energy, from 1970-1973 the Unidad Popular (Popular Unity/ UP) government of Salvador Allende nationalized more than 500 companies in Chile, most significantly copper, the main source of wealth. The military regime returned most of the companies to the private sector and then privatized an additional 50 of the 67 state-owned companies that existed before the UP. The power sector was fully privatized, one of the few countries in the Global South to cede complete control of its power sector to private interests. 

While this makes the challenge of reclaiming the power sector to public ownership formidable, unions in Chile expressed an interest in working alongside unions across the region to present an alternative approach to the energy transition. Furthermore, CUT Chile announced they are prioritizing the rebooting of their energy committee in order to facilitate coordination across all energy sector affiliates in the work towards a just transition. TUED looks forward to working with our Chilean comrades and supporting this effort. 

During the past decade, various governments have sought to develop solar power in Chile, with for-profit multinationals from Spain, China and elsewhere carving out considerable space. The largest solar companies include Acciona (Spain), JinkoSolar (China), Trina Solar (China), Enel Green Power (Italy), and First Solar (US). 

Speaking on its operations within the country, Enel recently described Chile as its longstanding “testing ground for the Enel Group’s innovations,” adding that Enel has been “unrivaled in its ability to seize the opportunity offered by the Chilean government when it sought companies to invest in renewable energies.” Enel, which is involved in Chile’s  solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric sector, boasts that in “the last three years we have signed more than 300 Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the sale of more than 150 TWh of electricity, 75% of which is certified renewable energy.” 

Plans are also being developed for several hydrogen projects, but the sector is facing opposition as well as rising prices and technical challenges due to the neglect of the transmission and distribution infrastructure. 

While presented as an example of how to drive an energy transition,modern renewables (wind and solar) contribute around 10% of the country’s power. It’s questionable whether or not the country’s “net zero by 2050” target will be achieved absent a major change in policy.  
 

The Difficult Road Back 

A recurring theme throughout our discussions with Chilean trade union leaders was the significance of regional coordination, namely how unions in Chile and across Latin America can work together as a block to develop a public pathway alternative to the neoliberal approach to energy transition. 

Comrades from Chile presented a number of key challenges facing the trade union movement. The current political situation is less favorable than it was just a year ago. On September 4, 2022,  Chileans  cast their ballots in a plebiscite that decided the fate of a new draft constitution, with 62% of the votes favoring “rechazo” or rejection. Although a new constitution will be drafted, the “rechazo” was a serious setback for the government and the trade unions. Just three years ago (October 2019) the country witnessed a historic mass uprising, and a year later Chileans overwhelmingly voted in favor of replacing the 1980 Constitution from the Pinochet era. In December 2021, Gabriel Boric was elected as president with 55.8 % of the vote. 

Taking a medium term view, the discussions focused on how unions in Chile and across the Latin American subcontinent can work together to develop a public pathway alternative to the neoliberal approach to energy transition. 

“We want to strengthen our international connections in the fight to reclaim energy. Our task is difficult, but together we can win,” said William Montes of the National Federation of Oil and Related Unions of Chile (FENATRAPECH). 
 

Social Movements Declare: Our Future is Public!

Our Future is Public (#OFiP22) Conference, held between November 29- December 2 in Santiago, Chile, gathered social movements and organizations to develop strategies and narratives aimed at strengthening public services while tackling climate change and the materialization of economic, social and cultural rights. 

The first two days were dedicated to sectoral meetings on energy, health, education, agriculture, economic justice and social protection, food systems, housing, transportation, waste and water. The final two days consisted of collective discussion on cross-cutting themes including the climate emergency, gender equality, economic and tax justice, and democratic ownership. The Santiago Declaration 

The energy sector two-day meetings, which TUED co-organized, included presentations by TUED union leaders and had the following goals: 

  1. Build bigger and stronger alliances to develop effective demands around public ownership underpinned by energy democracy and community participation. 
  2. Bring public energy, energy democracy, ecofeminism, decolonisation, environmental and Indigenous justice groups together to develop a shared analysis and way forward. 
  3. Develop a common narrative and energy programme, meaning a number of programmatic demands that unpacks public ownership as the pre-condition and democratic mechanisms as tools to turn vision around Indigenous Peoples justice, ecofeminism, and decolonisation into policy proposals. 
  4. Identify strategic opportunities for collective action.

The conference’s public document, the Santiago Declaration, is being finalized and will be published in the coming weeks, viewable on the PSI website.
 

Upcoming Global Forum: Join the Discussion! 

TUED will host a Global Forum on Wednesday, December 21 @ 8am ET/New York (find your local times here)  during which we will hear about the launch of “TUED South” in Nairobi in mid-October. Interpretation will be available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English. 

The Global Forum will dive into the TUEDSouth framing document, which offers a preliminary framework to address issues of the energy transition, energy poverty, and expansion of fossil fuels in the Global South.  

We also hope to hear reports from comrades who attended COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and the 5th ITUC World Congress in Melbourne.  Register for the Global Forum here and please share the invitation with your union members and allies.   


In Solidarity,
The TUED Team

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

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TUED Bulletin 123 – South Africa: Unions and Allies form United Front, Call for “Public Pathway” Approach to Energy Transition

The fight to defend public energy in South Africa has grown more intense in recent weeks. The country  has been hit by years of power cuts (“load shedding”) that is, TUED and its allies have argued, the direct result of years of political attacks on the public utility known as Eskom. 

In a major statement on July 26th, President Ramaphosa announced that the private sector was ready to address the country’s growing energy crisis, and the government intended to remove “red tape” in order to invite more investment from so-called independent power producers (or IPPs). South African Broadcasting Corporation footage of Ramaphosa’s statement is here. It includes a response from TUED’s Sean Sweeney towards the end of the broadcast that warned against expecting private companies to come to the rescue. 

The day after Ramaphosa’s statement, unions and allies in the social movements came together in Johannesburg to form a United Front to Address Loadshedding and resolved to fight for an alternative “public pathway” approach to energy transition. The meeting was organised by the Alternative Information and Development Center and TUED.  

Endorsing the United Front are key unions, including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM); the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the South African Trade and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU).

 See: Full statement and signatories to the United Front initiative.

A similar statement was released by NUMSA .

Click here to read more.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

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TUED Working Paper – Hydrogen in the Transition to a Low-Carbon Future: The Case for Public Ownership

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in hydrogen, and especially in its potential role in decarbonizing energy systems and wider economies. References to “green,” “blue” and “clean” hydrogen may at times be confusing, but can also leave the impression that the important issues around hydrogen are simple and well understood, or at least should be relatively easy to sort out. TUED’s latest Working Paper, True Colors: What Role Can Hydrogen Play in the Transition to a Low-Carbon Future? argues that such an impression could hardly be further from the truth.

The paper argues that mainstream policy voices and private-sector interests have largely shaped and driven the debates around hydrogen, without seriously questioning, let alone challenging, current policy and ownership patterns. As a result, these debates often take place as if the priority is to choose among technology options, without worrying about what else might need to change in order for any of those options to be able to really help solve the climate and energy crisis.

Hydrogen and the Decarbonization Challenge

Hydrogen already plays an important role in many industrial and other processes. Large quantities of hydrogen are used in refining petroleum, in the production of steel, ammonia and other chemicals, as a coolant in power stations, and much more. Hydrogen can be used to produce electricity through fuel cells, which can power vehicles or be fed into electrical grids. It can be used as a fuel for heat or to drive gas turbines, or can be converted into ammonia or other fuels. In principle, it can be produced from “carbon-free” sources and used as a fuel in ways that produce only water as waste.

But ensuring that hydrogen can play a significant role in decarbonization would require both a major expansion of its use — into more of industry, as well as into sectors where it is currently hardly used at all, like transport and power generation — as well as the decarbonization of its own production — either by “capturing” emissions generated during its production from fossil fuels (often called “blue hydrogen”) or, preferably, by producing it through processes that generate few or no emissions to begin with (often called “green hydrogen”).

The paper provides an overview of the technical facts about hydrogen’s current role in the economy, as well as the much-expanded role it is expected to play in major decarbonization scenarios, and the levels of investment required to achieve that expanded role. It also explains the various “colors” of hydrogen that readers might encounter in these debates, and outlines the technical issues and challenges involved in the main options for decarbonizing hydrogen production that figure in popular reporting and debates. 

Regarding “green hydrogen for grid storage” in particular — which many consider to hold significant potential as part of decarbonized electrical systems based on wind and solar power generation — the paper offers a deep dive into the production processes involved, the options for storage, and the reconversion of stored hydrogen into usable electrical power. It argues that, given the energy losses and technical hurdles involved at each stage, relying on private sector investment to drive the scaling up of hydrogen in ways that support the kinds of decarbonization we need seems highly unrealistic. The paper argues that, given the technical challenges involved in scaling up hydrogen in line with meeting the decarbonization challenge, there can be little doubt that doing so requires a dramatic shift in approach — a shift away from trying to “incentivize” private investors, and toward a planned, coordinated mobilization under public ownership and control.

Hydrogen and the Case for Public Ownership

The paper concludes by offering reflections aimed at developing an alternative approach that offers a better chance at achieving decarbonization, and at allowing hydrogen to play whatever role it can in helping to reach that goal — a “pro-public vision for hydrogen in decarbonization.” It argues that only an approach grounded in public ownership, decommodification, and freeing the development and deployment of hydrogen (and other technologies) from the imperatives of profit stands any real chance of delivering the energy transition that workers, as well as their unions, communities and allies, urgently need.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

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TUED Working Paper 14 – Beyond Disruption: How Reclaimed Utilities Can Help Cities Meet Their Climate Goals

In recent years hundreds of cities have adopted 100% renewable energy targets. This has left many with the impression that cities are “taking the lead” in addressing climate change, showing more ambition than most national governments, and taking measures to disrupt energy markets in ways that challenge the dominance of large energy utilities. Cities are believed to be both riding and driving a technological revolution that is reflected in the growth of local-level energy generation and the proliferation of “distributed energy resources” such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and digital control systems. Electricity users, on this view, are becoming increasingly active players in electricity markets, turning from “consumers” to “prosumers.” The days of centralized power generation, from this perspective, are thus numbered.


TUED’s Working Paper 14, Beyond Disruption: How Reclaimed Utilities Can Help Cities Meet Their Climate Goals, shows that this image of cities as “climate leaders” is misleading, as is the idea that large energy utilities are becoming obsolete. The paper documents  the technical limitations of city-level energy generation (principally solar photovoltaics), and shows that public subsidies, not “active consumers” or competitive markets, are driving many of the changes taking place. 

The paper also shows that cities will not be able to reach their renewable energy targets without sourcing energy from large energy companies. This is already happening through power purchase contracts with for-profit entities, producing outcomes that contribute to energy poverty, compromise energy security, and cause technical problems that threaten to put climate targets beyond reach. The real “disruption” in electrical power systems is being felt by working people, while large energy interests continue to reign supreme. 

As an alternative, Beyond Disruption proposes a “public-public partnership” approach in which  progressive municipalities can partner with utilities to drive energy efficiency, conservation, digitalisation, and a managed growth in distributed generation. For this approach to succeed, however, energy systems must be brought back into public ownership, and utilities still under public ownership (full or partial) must be fully “demarketized,” and issued a “new mandate” that reflects social and ecological goals and operating principles. Rather than being compelled to meet the needs of private investors for “acceptable returns on investment,” reclaimed utilities will be key partners in what will be a decades-long effort to decarbonize the economy. 

Just a few years ago, proposals to reclaim energy to public ownership would have been dismissed as “mission impossible,” but today many in the policy mainstream are questioning the current “energy for profit” policy framework. Concerns about climate change, energy security, and unreliable power increasingly demonstrate the need for a public pathway approach to the energy transition.

As many unions today recognise, a public pathway approach will require repealing the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and 1990s and reversing the drive to further liberalise and privatise the electricity sector (a drive that is currently being pursued in many countries of the Global South).  A full-on energy transition must involve a phase-out of so-called competitive electricity markets and the decommodification of electricity, as articulated in the Trade Union Program for a Public, Low-Carbon Energy Future, which is already supported by 50 trade union bodies from two dozen countries and regions around the world.  

The reforms articulated by the Trade Union Program  would set the stage for strong partnerships between cities around the pursuit of climate targets and economy-wide decarbonisation. Reclaimed companies and municipalities should have full control over prices in order to address energy poverty and discourage the wasteful use of electricity.  Progressive cities that aspire to control their energy systems (including distribution grids) can build on what they have already achieved by using their political strength to insist on a full reclaiming of energy to public control. 

As the paper argues, “the incumbent energy companies will not be dis­rupted out of existence; rather, they will remain dominant as market players and, under the current neoliberal framework, they will help perpetuate an energy for profit regime. If this is not changed, then cities will not be able to reach their energy and decarbonization targets.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is is part of the Global Labour Institute Network. 

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TUED: ‘Green Structural Adjustment’ in South Africa – A War on Workers and Climate

TUED Global Forum: February 25, 2022, 8:00-9:30am ET

On Friday, February 25th, 800 am – 930 am ET (find your local time here) Trade Unions for Energy Demoracy (TUED) is holding a Global Forum: “Green Structural Adjustment” in South Africa: A War on Workers and Climate.  Spanish and French interpretation will be available.

Register here.

At COP26 in Glasgow, the EU, the US and the UK announced it was going to “mobilize” $8.5 billion to accelerate South Africa’s transition away from coal in order to protect the climate.

A month later the IMF “advised” the South African government to downsize and break up (“unbundling”) its public utility (Eskom) in order to build a “A Green and Climate-Resilient Economy.” The “unbundling” of Eskom, “must be accompanied by a substantial downsizing and structural transformation of its operations, notably through a meaningful reduction of procurement and personnel costs. Eskom spends more than it earns, reflecting both its operational inefficiencies and unsustainable debt level. Competition from private firms is necessary. The resulting higher level of private investment should help finance the energy transition away from coal, contributing to climate change objectives.”

The IMF is pursuing the same policy in many countries in the Global South. But experience has shown that the privatization of power systems impedes the effort to move away from fossil fuels.

Unions and their allies in South Africa have put forward an alternative to this approach, one that keeps energy under public ownership, allowing a transformed and fully-resourced Eskom to drive the transition while preserving the country’s energy sovereignty.

Meanwhile, unions are leading an international effort to fight the energy privatization agenda and to reclaim energy companies to public ownership under a pro-public mandate that can address climate concerns.

A list of speakers will be circulated in the coming days.  Please register here. 

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.