Workers strikes and sit-ins

Strikes are a common response to decarbonisation efforts in coal or fossil fuel regions. They are resistance strategies because they usually seek to preserve current conditions and resist drivers of change. Strikes involve labour stoppages that seek to disrupt company operations. They are often accompanied by sit-ins where workers occupy worksites in protest. They may also be associated with broader protests, marches or blockades.

Strikes can be carried out at different geographic levels -local, provincial, regional, national, supranational – although they typically occur at local or national levels. Sit-ins are a local level strategy that are usually targeted at individual mines or companies. In the CINTRAN inventory, strikes and sit-ins are exclusively associated with fossil fuel mines or plants, and associated workers and workers unions.

Strikes are often seen in middle transition phases when carbon-intensive industries are reducing operations or closing down completely. They are usually triggered by proposed job cuts or mine or plant closures.