It must be part of an industrial strategy that is firmly based on solidarity, leads to good industrial jobs and avoids further fragmentation in Europe.

Yesterday's vote in the European Parliament on the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) has drawn mixed reactions from trade unions.

The ETUC has rightly stressed that, for the first time at EU level, the crucial importance of linking social conditions to a successful industrial policy has been recognised, but criticised that the text does not link access to subsidies to respect for labour law and collective bargaining.

For industriAll Europe, the NZIA marks a significant step forward in the greening of industry by promoting clean-tech manufacturing in Europe. This is welcome news for industrial workers whose future depends on sustainable jobs. By broadening the scope of eligible technologies included in the NZIA, legislators are acknowledging different situations across Europe, contributing to a more inclusive approach to promoting clean tech manufacturing.

However, industriAll Europe strongly supports the criticism of the weak commitment to social conditions. Where public support is given to clean tech companies, the new legislation must impose formal and effective social conditions. It is not enough to highlight companies’ moral obligation to deliver good jobs and conditions in return for public money.

Recent labour disputes at Tesla in Sweden and cases of poor working conditions in the nascent Hungarian battery industry serve as a warning of the inherent risks of cultivating a low-cost green industry in Europe. IndustriAll Europe therefore stresses the need for strong social conditionalities and insists that no public money should be given to companies that do not respect the principles of the European social model.

IndustriAll Europe urges EU policymakers to use the Trilogue process to strengthen the impact of the NZIA on jobs. And as unions we insist that the focus must be on creating #GoodIndustrialJobs that are well paid, secure and sustainable. The Trilogue, as a key negotiating forum for the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council to reach agreement on legislative proposals, provides an opportunity to ensure that the NZIA delivers a greener economy and good jobs for industrial workers.

Judith Kirton-Darling, Acting Joint General Secretary of industriAll Europe:

"The NZIA has the potential to put European industry on a sustainable long-term path, but it should also provide rapid answers to the many challenges facing Europe's energy-intensive industries right now, as a result of high energy prices.

"It is equally important that the NZIA does not privilege selected regions, but creates clean tech opportunities for all European regions. It must be part of an industrial strategy that is firmly based on solidarity, leads to good industrial jobs and avoids further fragmentation in Europe."

Please follow industriAll Europe's good industrial jobs campaign and read our call to action.