German Trade Unions and Decarbonisation: A Transition to Green Growth, A-Growth or Degrowth?

While the need for a transformation to tackle climate change is no longercontested, competing visions about the future have taken the front seatin political debates. Previous research on stakeholders in the EuropeanParliament and the German Bundestag identified opposing views relatingto green growth, degrowth and post-growth. In relation to trade unions, these have recently been discussed conceptually to some extent, butempirical work on the topic has hitherto been absent. Drawing on 25 semi-structured interviews with representatives of Germany's DGB tradeunions, we find that, despite their strong support for a green growthnarrative and official opposition to post-growth thought, the majority ofinterviewees sketched out concrete visions for a just future that in somerespects aligns with post- or a-growth positions. In line with post-growthdiscourses, trade union officials described an economy that allows for 'agood life' and 'good work', based on principles of co-determination, secure and well-paid jobs ensured by collective bargaining, income, wealth and inheritance tax reform and a stronger, more active role of thestate. Findings suggest that despite German labour unions' sharedopposition to the term post-growth or degrowth, there is significantoverlap in terms of concrete goals and policy proposals.