“Why does the ESG debate always forget the worker’s perspective?” [Kirton-Darling, RM #5]

“We sometimes feel like Cinderella at the party”. That’s the summary of Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary for industriAll Europe, when asked why it seems the worker’s perspective is getting drowned out in the Brussels debates about the Critical Raw Materials Act or the Industrial Accelerator Act. In this episode, the hosts PTH and JP are therefore absolutely delighted to give the floor to one of Europe’s leading trade union voices because we need to urgently bring in the worker’s perspective in the Critical Raw Materials and Industrial Policy debates in Brussels and elsewhere. Because ESG discussions should ALSO cover the worker’s perspective and not ONLY environmental and local communities’ perspectives! They are equally important.

In Episode #5 of RAW MATTERS Peter Tom Jones (SIM2 KU Leuven) and Julia Poliscanova (T&E) speak at length with Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of industriAll Europe. Judith Kirton-Darling is widely considered as one of Europe’s leading and most eloquent voices representing 7 millions of industrial workers. The discussion is triggered by the recent speech of Bart De Wever, the Belgian Prime Minister, who recently stated:

“Last year I said that Europe must never become an industrial museum. The birthplace of the industrial revolution cannot turn into a beautiful heritage park where visitors admire the prosperity of the past while the future is built elsewhere” (2nd European Industry Summit in Feb 2026 in Antwerp).

Kirton-Darling provides some shocking numbers about the on-going industrial decline in Europe (100,000 jobs lost in the EU steel industry since 2008, 50,000 jobs lost in the German car industry in 2025 alone). In this episode we speak at length about the problematic worker’s situation in Asian-owned battery factories in Hungary and what is needed to rectify these situations. JKD is clear about the IAA and the “Made in Europe” narrative: “Made in Europe must mean made with quality, made with responsibility, and made with the people of Europe at its heart.”

JUDITH KIRTON-DARLING
Judith Kirton-Darling is General Secretary of industriAll Europe, representing manufacturing, mining and energy workers from 39 European countries. She was formerly a Labour Member of the European Parliament for the North East of England (2014-20). Before entering parliament, she was active for 15 years within the Labour and trade union movement, notably she was elected Confederal Secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation in 2011.
Transcript