School of Law

The Just Transition Research Cluster were pleased to organise a roundtable on the topic of ‘unjust transitions’ on 27 November 2023. The roundtable, which was held in person in the School of Law with parties also joining online via zoom, brought together an interdisciplinary group of speakers to present thoughts on the question: what lessons can we draw from the history of deindustrialisation in Scotland to inform a ‘just transition’ in the 2020s?

Ewan Gibbs (Lecturer in Global Inequalities at University of Glasgow) and Jim Phillips (Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow) shared findings and perspectives from their research on the history of deindustrialisation in Scotland. They presented on their established work on mid 20^th century deindustrialisation in Scotland, drawing out learnings for the Just Transition in the 2020s. Using a moral-economy framework, this research highlights the collective successes as well as failures in the management of deindustrialisation in Scotland. Stressing that that deindustrialisation has been a phased process, the presentation outlined that early transitions in the 1950s and 1960s from high levels of employment in heavy industry were managed by policymakers, pushed by the affected workers, in ways which maintained high levels of employment, primarily by investments in alternatives. This was contrasted with a period of unjust transition in the 1980s and 1990s. Discussion then moved to present day: findings were shared from their emergent research on workers from transitioning industries including aerospace, oil and gas, coal and renewables. Using case studies, including oil worker communities on the Cromarty Firth, these findings suggest both pessimistic and optimistic outcomes for just transitions in Scotland.

Comments on the issues raised by this presentation were then provided by Matthew Crichton (Just Transition Partnership), who drew attention to the challenges of local economic development. Time was spent discussing the range of measures taken in early transitions through the 1950s and 1960s, as referred to by Dr Gibbs and Professor Phillips. In particular, it was noted that these stabilisation and intervention measures by the state were criticised at the time for being insufficient, yet in modern times similar measures seem unattainable. The shift from a publicly-led transition to privately-led transitions is highlighted in the example of Cromarty Firth, where there is a lack of investment from global capital into a transition at the local level.

Finally, Professor Ruth Dukes (Professor of Labour Law, University of Glasgow) provided an overview of the role of labour law and the Just Transition, arguing that labour law in the UK does very little to facilitate the Just Transition. Arguing that while there is less need for strong labour law legislation where trade unions are strong, this is not currently the case in the UK: both collective and individual capabilities for action are weak. Concerning individual employment rights, the UK fares poorly compared to other European states with a narrow personal scope of application for important rights, such as unfair dismissal, and very weak enforcement mechanisms. At the collective level, we are seeing increasing attacks to the right to strike and collective bargaining, as well as to consultation for collective redundancies. Taken together, these trends severely restrict UK-based workers' capacity to resist unfair transitions today.  Therefore, there is a need for UK labour law to be strengthened both with regard to individual and collective labour rights to contribute to the just transition through the 2020s.

From each of these three presentations, healthy discussion was then had regarding what issues must be tackled to ensure that the transition to decarbonisation in industry in Scotland is done in a just, rather than unjust, manner. The issues discussed will inform the work of the Just Transition Cluster going forward.

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First published: 27 November 2023