INTRODUCTION
The unions of workers' association or employers, have acted to solve the problems that affect the survival and prosperity of workers, that unionists can address environmental issues by observing them in the general perspective of the relationship between our social world (as workers, community members and citizens of the world and the material world (water, air, land).
That the unions commit to caring for the environment, that they give importance to laws and regulations in the protection of the environment.
ENVIRONMENT
The concept of the environment is a system formed by natural and artificial elements that are interrelated, which are modified by human action, it is about the environment that conditions the way of life of society, which includes natural, social and cultural values that exist in a place at a certain time, it could be said that the environment includes physical factors, such as climate and geology, biologists, human population, flora, fauna, water, socioeconomic, work activity, urbanization, and conflicts social,.
an ecosystem is known as the set formed by all the biotic factors of an area and the abiotic factors of the environment; In other words, it is a community of living beings with interrelated life processes, ecology is another notion linked to the environment, since it is the discipline that studies the relationship between living beings and their environment, whose subsistence can be guaranteed to through ecological behavior that respects and protects natural resources.
For the author Gabriel Quadri, the term “environment” refers to various biological, ecological, physical and landscape factors and processes that, in addition to having their own natural dynamics, are intertwined with human behavior, these interactions can be of the economic, political, social, cultural or with the environment, and today they are of great interest to governments, companies, individuals, social groups and the international community.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Preserving the environmental balance that each human being assumes the commitment to respect our work environment, not to pollute the air we breathe, not to cut down trees is for this reason that we must always bear in mind that without nature we could not survive.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UNION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Concept of union according to article 356 of the federal labor law, the union is the “permanent association of workers or employers constituted for the study, improvement and defense of their respective interest.
UNION FUNCTIONS
Each union acts according to its internal regime, in accordance with the statutory provisions and regulations imposed by the will of its members, for the open search for the common welfare through the collective bargaining agreement, broadens its field of action in solidarity relations with related organizations, through identification and alliance.
The union representatives who are: The leader and general secretary, have the capacity, ability, aptitude to guide, direct and defend union actions, they have always acted within the community, interacting with other groups to participate in the organisms in which they are make decisions, by improving these external links, they can give proposals to take care of the environment.
UNION and ENVIRONMENT
There is usually little relationship between environmental issues and trade union issues. Although the recognition of the importance of ecological issues has increased as the magnitude of the problems is known, it has not yet become part of the central nucleus economic policies and union policies, rather they are raised as questions that must be answered due to the existence of sectors of the population that pressure for the adoption of measures in certain fields, such as pollution or the defense of some species, the environment, however, a global problem, these are sectors in which the unions have a significant presence, which often leads them to align themselves with the companies of the sector in "industrialists",It is evident that in the short term in many of these fields it is possible to develop corrective and alternative measures, so the importance of the environment can be clear.
Expecting unions to align with industrialist interests, which can have other pernicious effects in the long run, on the same plane as classical capitalist competition, it can be expected that if there is a gradual ecological pressure, in an environmental sense it could even constitute a factor. Of competitiveness, in aggregate terms it is not clear that an environmentally responsible policy will generate less employment, on the one hand because in an ecological conversion, in which, for example, energy costs increase, it would force the introduction of technological changes that could be more intensive in terms of the employment of workforce in response to the rising cost of energy and the most environmentally harmful products.
Trade unionists can easily generate the formation of defensive coalitions aimed at blocking these transformations, in any case they require a rethinking of the union's policy of protest, think about their role, such as raising the ground of environmental rationality, but in a broader sense environmental restructuring it affects the general way in which environmental policy is constructed by forcing people to intervene both in union policies and in control of the production process at levels for which there is neither experience nor culture.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
It is the set of political efforts to conserve the natural bases of human life and achieve sustainable development, since the 70s, with growing environmental awareness, it has become an increasingly important autonomous political sector both at the regional level, National or international, in the governments of many countries there is a ministry in charge of environmental issues and green parties have been created.
The definition of an environmental policy at the company level is a requirement of certified environmental management systems such as ISO 14001 or EMAS, it is to consider the mission, values and central principles of the organization, impose communication requirements between all stakeholders involved, establish a policy of continuous improvement, ensure the prevention of pollution, ensure compliance with regulations, laws and other relevant environmental criteria that the organization has signed.
PRINCIPLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Although there is no general agreement on the principles of environmental policy, there are some generally accepted bases.
- The principles of sustainable development The principle of responsibility The precautionary principle, according to which it is always better to prevent than to correct. Whoever carries out a potentially harmful action for the environment has the responsibility to demonstrate that it is not, the substitution principle that requires replacing dangerous substances with less polluting substitutes and high energy intensity processes with more efficient ones whenever they are available. The principle of: "the polluter pays" for cases in which environmental damage cannot be prevented, provided it is possible to identify the cause. The principle of coherence that requires coordination of environmental policy with other departments and the integration of environmental issues in other fields Principle of cooperation,according to which the integration of important social groups in the definition of environmental goals and their realization is essential.Environmental policy must always be based on the results of scientific research.In addition, environmental policy must be serious and responsible, taking into account the human factor.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY INSTRUMENT
- Legal instruments: The set of legal norms and provisions regarding the environment at the local, regional, national and international level. Administrative instruments: Evaluations, controls, authorizations and regulations. Some examples are environmental impact assessments and environmental audits. Technical instruments: The promotion and application of the best available technologies for both preventive and corrective actions. Economic and fiscal instruments: Subsidies, taxes, fees and rates. The idea is to reward part of the costs of positive actions and penalize those that harm the environment to internalize environmental costs. Social instruments: The key points of this instrument are information and participation.
With the above, union policy can be in a different way that allows unionists to take care of the environment.
UNION POLICIES
It demands a union action of the same scope, a global understanding of environmental challenges and its labor dimension is necessary to develop a long-term strategy, for this it is essential a union technical knowledge of environmental issues, to prepare proposals that not only advance in the protection of workers and the environment but should be the fundamental bases for the construction of a new economic model.
Union action for the environment can be manifested in 2 dimensions, the traditional claim that broadens the vision beyond the limits of the company and a more strategic one that calls into question the production system and gives the labor movement a transformative role From this perspective, alliances with the environmental movement, with the scientific community, with the various social sectors and the presence of trade unions in all public bodies and forums that deal with issues that affect protection are acquired a strategic character. enviroment.
UNIONS SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THEIR MEMBERS
Unions must see that their members do not have work, elimination of chemical risk, dangerous substance, that damages the health of the worker, they must claim a corporate social responsibility from a labor perspective with respect to the existing legislation and advance in systems tripartite environmental monitoring (state / workers / employers) and question the self-control system with its own rules as intended from the business strategy.
Unions must have environmental issues such as climate change and energy, chemical management, water, corporate social responsibility, so that members in their work do not contaminate their work area, for example not throwing garbage, not burning fuels, they give maintenance, the machines where they work like this they will know that the environment is a factor that helps people live.
Personal opinion
In my opinion, unionists, workers or employers should think about incorporating an environmental education program, so that the affiliated people know the different social sectors, so that they take care of the environment, it would have different characteristics according to the activity of the union but a common matrix, They can also incorporate the modality of distance courses, which encourages members not to be polluting the environment, but to protect it, Environmental education must be focused on a more intense political system that encompasses Mexican and international law for the protection of the environment. environment, all the person who belongs to a union assembly, that each of the representatives can know how the contamination is in other places so they can take necessary measures to take care of the environment,With the tools they can provide, members to take care of their work area and if their work is risky they can take useful measures, through laws and regulations for the environment.
General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection
1. Title One: General Provisions
It regulates the distribution of authority between the federation, the states and the municipal governments.
2. Second Title: Protected natural areas Describe
The classification system for areas subject to special regulations, such as habitats for endangered animals, or areas designated for recreational purposes.
3. Third Title: Rational Use of Natural Elements
Among these elements are water and aquatic ecosystems, use of land and its resources, the purpose of this law is to ensure that their exploration and exploitation are carried out in a manner consistent with the maintenance of a balance. ecological and sustainability of natural resources.
4. Title Four: Environmental Protection
It divides the protection of the environment into seven general categories including air, water, soil and hazardous waste and assigns the government agencies in charge of its rules and regulations.
5. Title five: Public Participation
Under this Title, the Mexican government is obliged to promote the participation of groups, private companies and the general public in the formulation of an environmental policy.
6. Title Six: Control Measures, Security and Sanctions
It establishes control and security measures and their corresponding sanctions for violation, it also regulates inspection and monitoring procedures, administrative sanctions, and federal environmental crimes and their penalties.
The importance of the environment unions can propose proposals for measures to protect the environment, such as the following examples:
- Encourage members of the union organization to meet with community groups that work to preserve the environment.
- Promote the penalization of polluters
- Carry out information, education and campaigns on the environment to involve and motivate workers.
- Develop strategies at the local, regional and national levels to build coalitions with groups working on climate threats, so that a union dimension is established in this work.
- Promote strategies to reduce global water emissions, by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels,
- Promote the development of alternative energy sources,
- Incorporate the use of clean technologies in production and processing plants in collective bargaining.
- Campaign for the application of higher safety standards and training for workers.
- Encourage the use of technologies that minimize the production of waste and stimulate the handling of spills in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
- Monitor attempts to transport and dump hazardous waste, especially in violation of international conventions.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, there are many unions worth what happens to the environment, for example the (SENTE) national union education workers, they make non-peaceful strikes, burn fuel, block the streets, thus they are polluting the environment.
Trade unionists representing the committee realize the importance of the environment, which has a result, using, the laws that are constituted on the protection of the environment, propose objectives to the members so they can give their opinion, give a proposal to the union in protecting the environment, in the environment they work in..
REFERENCES
- CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS SUSTAINABILITY, ENVIRONMENT, AUTHOR GABRIEL QUADRI, EDITORIAL PORRÚA. LABOR AGENDA AUTHOR CONGRESS OF THE UNION, TRADE UNIONS AND PLITICALS in MEXICO, LATIN AMERICAN FACULTY OF AMERICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCES, JURISDICTION AND SOCIAL POLICY, LEGAL POLITICS, LEGAL POLITICS AND SOCIALES MEXICAN CONSTITUTION, AUTHOR CONGRESS OF THE UNION, PUBLISHER, PORRUA OR LEGAL LIBRARY. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATION
