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A closer look at just transition policies
Tunisia

UGTT Position Paper

Integrating Just Transition in NDC 3.0

Region
Africa
Country
Tunisia
Originator/Owner
Workers' organizations
Coordinating/Lead actor
Union Generale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT)
Policy type
Position papers by social partners
Policy areas
Industrial and sectoral policies, Macroeconomic and growth policies, Rights, Skills development, Social dialogue and tripartism, Social protection
Environmental focus
Climate change
Target groups
Other, Women, Workers, Youth
Sectoral focus
Agriculture, Forestry and Land use, Infrastructure, construction and related sectors, Maritime and transport, Other, Tourism
Crosscutting themes
Digital economy, Employment/job creation, Finance (public/private), Green economy, Informal economy
Date of Adoption
2025
Timeframe
No timeframe provided yet.
UGTT Position paper on Integrating Just Transition in NDC 3.0
English, PDF

The document presents an alternative NDC proposed by the Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT). This trade union initiative arises in a context of institutional marginalization: UGTT was excluded from the official process of developing Tunisia’s updated NDC in 2021.

The UGTT argues that Tunisia’s official 2021 NDC lacks social legitimacy because it excluded trade unions and fails to integrate workers’ rights, social justice, and equitable development into climate policy.

This alternative centered on just transition, where climate action and social justice are inseparable. Aligned with the ILO guidelines for a just transition, the ILO Resolution ILC 111 (2023), and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) recommendations, including those presented at the June 2025 UNFCCC meetings in Bonn, the alternative NDC emphasizes institutionalized social dialogue, workers protection, and decent employment.

Key insights
Guiding Principles of UGTT’s Alternative NDC Framework

Transforming climate policy from a technical emissions-reduction agenda into a comprehensive socioeconomic development strategy.

Social Dialogue: climate governance must include structured participation from trade unions, employers, and civil society through formal consultation and collective bargaining ensuring inclusive decision-making, transparency, accountability, stakeholder ownership, and reduced social conflict risks.

Skills development, social protection and employment creation: The transition should actively generate decent green jobs in sustainable sectors rather than simply eliminate carbon-intensive employment. Reskilling, professional reconversion, and robust social protection are essential to shield workers from economic disruption caused by decarbonization.

Expected Outcomes
Ambitious and Realistic Climate Targets
Implementation
Institutional Proposals: National Committee for Just Transition (NCJT) and Regional Social Dialogue Platforms (RSDPs)

Implementation is designed to institutionalize just transition principles through governance reform, financing, labour protections, and decentralized participation mechanisms

National Committee for Just Transition (NCJT):

  • Coordinate national climate and labor policies
  • Monitor social impacts
  • Guide sectoral reconversion
  • Institutionalize stakeholder participation

Formal Social Dialogue Mechanisms:

  • Integrate climate clauses into collective bargaining agreements
  • Conduct regular consultations with trade unions, employers, and civil society

Regional Social Dialogue Platforms (RSDPs):

  • Localize climate strategies
  • Identify regional workforce and development needs
  • Coordinate local green economy initiatives

Dedicated Just Transition Financing Mechanism:

  • Fund retraining
  • Support social protection
  • Finance green jobs
  • Build institutional capacity

Inclusive Governance Standards:

  • Ensure participation of women, youth, and informal workers
  • Align policy with human rights and equity principles
Participation to the regional advocacy seminar: integrating just transition through national and multinational platforms
27 Oct 2025 - 30 Oct 2025
Workshop to strengthen regional collaboration between trade unions in Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Jordan and Iraq. | The seminar supported trade unions develop unified strategies to influence national and international climate agendas.
Other stakeholders
Climate action cannot be achieved without workers

UGTT calls upon ILO, ITUC, UNFCCC, Trade unions, civil society, national stakeholders, to support a human-centered climate vision.