PEFC encourages global unions to continue to be involved with FSC

22 September 2014 News

Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), the largest union representing forest workers, has issued a statement that they are re-assessing their position regarding FSC, as a result of FSC's failure to promote ILO core labour standards.

"While PEFC and FSC are at times competitors in the market place, this is a time for us to work together," according to PEFC Chairman, William Street. "The ILO core labour standards are the minimal level of support regarded to have reasonable social standards. That is why PEFC requires them applied irrespective of national action.

“The inability of FSC to reach our same standards creates a risk that all certification systems may be diminished,” continued Mr. Street. “Without robust labour standards that exceed ILO requirements, it is impossible to deliver socially sustainable forest products to the market. Without strong social and labor safeguards, poverty driven deforestation is likely to increase."

PEFC requires certification systems in countries where the ILO core labour standards are not adopted and enforced to fill any gaps in national legislation within their national forest certification standards. To date, the countries that have not ratified the ILO core labour standards that are endorsed by PEFC have made such accommodations. In Malaysia, China and the US, gap analysis has resulted in actions taken by the certification systems that give forestry employees working in PEFC certified forests protections that forestry employees in non-PEFC certified forest do not have.

"PEFC has long understood that in order to protect the world's forests it is a prerequisite to protect the world's forest dependent communities and their workers,” declared Ben Gunneberg, CEO and Secretary General of PEFC International. “We hope that BWI will continue to engage with FSC in order to assist FSC to reach the level of protection offered by PEFC."

“If a wood product is labeled as sustainable and it does not protect the workers who manufactured it, the logo will not mean much to the consumers who are increasingly concerned about the social aspects of sustainability,” continued Mr. Gunneberg. “We sincerely hope that FSC can re-consider this issue as soon as possible and come to a solution agreeable to BWI.”

Original statement from BWI

Available on the BWI website or below.

FSC General Assembly fails in passing Motion 35

FSC held its 7th General Assembly from 7 to 14 September 2014 in Sevilla Spain. While its objective was to mark the 20th anniversary of its continuous efforts to find solutions that benefit people and forests worldwide, FSC failed in passing Motion 35, a consistent and just interpretation mechanism of workers’ rights, in accordance with the ILO core conventions. The event gathered FSC members and stakeholders from around the world, including the BWI.

It took the BWI and its affiliates 10 years to incorporate workers’ rights in the Chain of Custody certificates. However, their implementation was stalled until 2011. The request of having CoC certificate holders declare not to be directly or indirectly involved in ILO core conventions violations, as stipulated in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, led to unrest in the pulp and paper companies in the USA.

The BWI has continued its struggle despite some pressure to withdraw the motion announced by the BWI during the first global social chamber meeting in Oaxaca Mexico in February 2014. A motion that would have applied to all countries even to those that have not ratified all ILO conventions. The motion request included that certifying bodies, standard development groups or policies and decision makers within the global FSC shall interpret compliance with the rights and guarantees of workers and indigenous peoples as stipulated in ILO conventions. In case of indigenous peoples, interpretations should also comply with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). And for workers the interpretation should comply with the Declaration on fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

For the first time in FSC history, a secret paper ballot vote was organised as members willing to vote in favour or against had requested the president of the meeting to do so because they feared the consequences of their vote.

The following morning the result was shown, stating that the social chamber and the envorimental chamber voted with at least 3/4 in favor of this motion, the economic chamber however voted the motion down with 75% against. Thus the motion did not pass and the inconsistency created by the board decision to allow interpretation of basic workers' rigths in a national context remained.

The BWI, the unions and the indigenous peoples, walked out the assembly hall, negating the required quorum until they were convinced that their point was taken into consideration.

For BWI Global Director for wood and forestry, Coen van der Veer: “If FSC is led by companies that are not willing to let go their right to interfere with the freedom of their workers to form and join unions, the potential lack of credibility of FSC might affect the reputation of the unions that will choose to remain associated with FSC. Therefore, BWI statutory bodies will have to assess accordingly.”