Monday, 12 October 2015
Have your say on UK forestry certification - protecting the rights of forest workers
© FSC UKEvery five years, the standard against which forest management in the UK is assessed for FSC certification, the UK Woodland Assurance Standard or UKWAS, is revised. The revision process takes into account not only FSC’s international requirements, reflected in our Principles and Criteria, but also the views of the many other stakeholders in UK forests.
Make sure you have your say on the revision of the UK Woodland Assurance Standard. The consultation paper is available here.
Wherever FSC operates in the world, it has to take into account the social impacts of forestry, including impacts on those who work in the forest. Even in the UK, where many of our rights are protected by law, it’s important to ensure that those rights are respected.
Requirements for workers’ rights have been consolidated. The requirement on collective negotiation has been expanded to make it explicitly clear that it covers all terms and conditions. A requirement has been added to ensure compliance with equality legislation, similar to an existing requirement on compliance with health and safety legislation. Let us know whether you think these changes go far enough to protect the rights of forest workers; check out section 5.6 of the draft standard.
Make sure your comments are heard; submit them via e-mail to ukwas@confor.org.uk.