Workers in the UK environment sector have said that staff shortages, a lack of specialist personnel and low pay are major barriers to achieving net zero.
The trade union Prospect, many members of which work in the climate and environment sector, received more than 500 responses to a survey on workplace trends. The study found that Widespread shortages of expert staff and reductions in specialist personnel in recent years had seriously affected workload levels.
According to the findings of the study, four in 10 workers said they had seen a reduction in the numbers of expert staff in the past year, and 35% said they had experienced a significant increase in workload.
More than 100 respondents provided additional comments. “I really like the people I work with and the value of the work I do,” one wrote, “but I could be paid four times as much for my skills in a different industry – one that is bad or indifferent to the environment. We can’t solve environmental problems or net zero unless we have people to do the work.”
The reduction in expertise has led to important tasks being assigned to inexperienced staff, according to respondents, with 36% saying specialist jobs are being allocated to untrained workers.
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Low pay is a significant concern across the sector, which has a large percentage of specialised and highly educated staff, findings of the study showed. Despite the skilled nature of many roles and 20% of survey participants having a PhD or equivalent, 38% of respondents report earning £30,000 or less.
One respondent described feeling “underpaid, undervalued, understaffed, overworked”, while another reported they “work in a role which is crucial to the organisation yet receive one of the lowest salaries. I have to do regular overtime every month to survive and as a result have a poor work/life balance. It affects my mental and physical health.”
Almost half of those questioned reported no room for career progression in their current role. One respondent described the “demoralising” effect of a workplace with a “lack of reward for expertise gained over time”, and where “programme managers are valued more highly than international experts”.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
