Wood and Allied Workers' Union threatens to leave the PEFC forest certificate system Helsinki (10.08.2006 - Juhani Artto) Almost all forests in Finland have been certificated according to the PEFC system. Until recently the Wood and Allied Workers' Not any more. The union is not critical of the system itself but the way in which the forest industry companies treat their forest workers. According to the union, the companies' myopic efforts to get rid of almost all of them violate the PEFC certificate. Companies pressurise their forest workers to accept early retirement arrangements or to become service providers to the companies either as self-employed entrepreneurs or as workers for subcontracting companies. Recently the union threatened to stop supporting the PEFC system, unless the companies change the way they treat their forest workers. Should the union withdraw its support, not much would be left of the international credibility of the Finnish PEFC certificates. Furthermore environmental NGOs prefer other certificate systems to the PEFC. Simultaneously Finnish forest industry companies have begun to reconsider their attitude towards various certificate alternatives. The main reason for this is international pressure to adopt the FSC certificate. In many countries clients of the Finnish forest industry companies feel pressure from environmental NGOs who favour the FSC certificate. The union's threat to withdraw its support from the PEFC system and the companies' reconsideration of their attitude towards various certificate alternatives are separate processes, the bargaining secretary Sakari Lepola at the union points out. In contrast with former times, the forest industry companies no longer employ most of the forest workers. Of the union's 3 300 lumberjacks about 700 are permanently employed by the Forest Authority (Metsähallitus) and another 700 by the forest owners' regional associations. And, the third large group is formed by forest workers employed by companies that deliver wood to the industry. In this third group, problems in applying the forest work collective agreement are common, Lepola says. The number of wood handling machine drivers has in the last five years dropped from 2 500 to 1 500. In addition a few thousand men drive wood transport lorries. Read also: |