The B.C. government claims it is
going to deal with some major prob-
lems in the forest industry. On Febru-
ary 9th Forests Minister, Dan Miller
met with IWA local union officers to
discuss the overall strategies
involved.

The meeting, which took place dur-
ing the Canadian Labour Congress’
Winter School at Harrison Lake, gave
the Forests Minister a chance to clear
the air and explain what a new Forest
Sector Economic Strategy Advisory
Group will be all about. A

On January 22, Miller at the Truc!
Loggers’ Convention, announced that
the new advisory group would be
formed. There he said, “this coalition
of government, in partnership with
forest sector stakeholders, will chart a
course for B.C.’s forest industry...With
the forest sector facing mounting
pressures and challenges, sustaining
our forests and building a secure
future for industry, workers, and for-
est dependent communities are going
to take time and commitment.”

When the announcement was made
in January, IWA-CANADA President
Gerry Stoney called it “a first step in
an orderly process that should secure
jobs for forest workers.”

“Everyone in this industry under-
stands some of the potentials that are
out there,” said Brother Stoney in a
press release statement. “What this
announcement does is spell out how
government, industry, labour and
communities are going to achieve
these objectives.”

In Harrison, Miller told IWA officers
that the union should participate in
the advisory group which will report
directly to the minister.

The advisory group will involve the
IWA, the CEP, and the PPWC, the
major employers, smaller industry
employers and the input of communi-
ties through the Union of B.C. Munici-
palities. Representatives will be cho-
sen from the provinces interior and
coast regions.

Miller said the group should recom-
mend policies and programs “to
ensure a world class industry with
potentials for increased employment.”
But his message to the IWA officers
was also mixed. He said he recognizes
that the IWA’s recent job losses are a
“terrible blow to an organization.”

“At the same time there’s every indi-
cation that there is going to be more

job loss,” said Miller, “if you look at
the issues in front of the government.”

Miller said the province will set
aside another 6% of the land base by
the year 2000 and said “we’ve never
looked at set aside issues (before) and
review cut levels... It’s pretty clear
that in some areas some mills are
going to go down.”

“Nature’s boundaries have reached
their limit,” said Miller. “We can no
longer expand the exploitation of that
(forest) resource.”

Miller also said the industry has
never been pressured before to maxi-
mize value from the resource because
historically, markets were good and
resources seemed inexhaustible. But
all that has changed rapidly.

Bill Routley, President of IWA-
CANADA Local 1-80 questioned Miller
on the way in which it is reducing the
province's annual allowable cuts and
said the government should play a
more constructive role with unions in
adjusting to any downturns in the cut.

Brother Routley said the sudden
shock of AAC reductions can be less-
ened if cut reductions are phased in.

Mr. Miller said that the ministry
must work more, at the local level, to
provide the public with detailed infor-
mation on how cuts are determined.
He said he is encouraging government
staff at the regional forest districts to
sit down with the IWA and other inter-
ested parties to explain exactly what
is going on in the cut reduction
process.

Miller agreed that the government,
which is suffering from budget cut-
backs, has to do more to soften the

blow of layoffs and dislocation.
Just how that is done remains to be

seen and can be an important party of
the forest advisory group’s mandate.

Sy Pederson of Local 1-363 in
Courtenay, told Miller that members
are upset that the AAC is coming
down and that a new Forest Practices
Act, which should regulate harvesting
techniques, can help create jobs. For
example, the use of long line
machines can put 5-8 loggers to work
instead of 3-4 workers used in grapple
yarding.

Miller told the IWA officers that the
government will institute a Forest
Practices Act in 1994 which will con-
solidate existing regulations on the
industry. Those new regulations will
be enforced with strict penalties.

B.C. FORESTS MINISTER SAYS MORE JOBS.
TO BE LOST BUT ACTIONS CAN BE TAKEN

As for job creation with which will
soften the blow of layoffs, Miller said
that there needs to be some specific
work done in B.C. forests: namely
road rehabilitation and intensive silvi-
culture.

On the coast especially, he said that
there were many old logging roads
that have to be rehabilitated to pre-
vent slides.

“I don’t have any magic formula on
how we are going to pay for that,”
said the forests minister, who men-
tioned that it will likely be a combina-
tion of industry and government
funds.

Erich Ewert, financial secretary of
IWA Local 1-217 expressed concern
that too much of the timber cut in the
province is being exported semi-
processed forms (ie. cants, flitches
and other custom cuts.) He said that
the B.C. government must get the
companies to do more manufacturing

here in the province.

Miller agreed and said when you
look at export statistics from the
province, over 90% isin dimension
lumber (ie. 2x4’s) and pulp.

The minister said that there needs
to be change in the way raw timber is
priced. He said the fundamental issue
for value-added industry is that high
input costs will force manufacturers
to look at value-added.

“Cheap low input costs don’t force
you (ie. the forest companies) to do
anything except make dimension lum-
ber,” said Miller. He said, over time,
the province should increase costs of
raw materials to the industry.

“The higher the wood cost to the
customer the more you're going to
force manufacturers to look at ways
of creating more value - that means
more jobs and more value-added
products.”

©
>)

° Dan Miller told the IWA that government will be looking to create jobs in
intensive silviculture and logging road rehabilitation.

Reman Sector

Continued from page one

agreement job rates on remanners
and realizes that certain operations
need flexible work rules to allow
them to expand.

“We're prepared to address these
issues and have done so already,” said
Stoney.

Dave Tones of IWA-CANADA Local
1-3567 (New Westminster and Fraser
Valley) said. his local union has been
realistic in negotiating flexible con-
tract language in the reman sector.

“We and our employers are proud
of the relationship that we have,” said
Brother Tones. “The big problem is
that many of the reman operations are

running at half speed due to lack of
wood supply.”

The IWA says that from a labour
relations perspective, there is an
urgent need for reman employers to
establish a more co-ordination
approach in their sector. The IWA says
that greater stability and coordination
of collective bargaining and labour
relations should take place if employ-
ers form associations.

Said Brother Stoney: “If the indus-
try is going to survive and workers are

going to have the security they require
in the future they (reman employers),
will have to co-ordinate their bargain-
ing strategies in the reman sector.”

Stoney said remanners need a level
playing field amongst themselves and
co-ordinated bargaining is an essen-
tial, orderly process.

The SBFEP was roundly criticized
by the IWA for not fulfilling its stated
goals.

Brother Stoney said that timber
often winds up in the hands of opera-
tions that don’t have a proven track
record and don’t see to proper logging
practices.

Stoney also said that the Bid Pro-
posal Program should ensure that
companies have experience and
money to back them up. Many times
companies can’t live up to the terms
of their bids under the program.

The IWA’s National Financial Secre-
tary, Terry Smith told the committee
that the reman people who try to bid
up SBFEP sales are good “ideas peo-
ple” but not necessarily well versed in
logging and primary lumber break-
down and that they often get caught
in a position where they will ask the
government for a break in stumpage
payments or will apply for log export
permits to cover their losses.

By and large Brother Smith said the
result is a shuffling of jobs from
secure primary producers to an inse-
cure non-union workforce.

IWA Assistant Research Director,
Phillip Legg said that the government
must assess bid proposals more rigor-
ously. He said that the bid system
does not address the balance of
power issues between large and small
producers.

The union recommends that, to
solve the supply issues that exist
between primary producers and
remanufactures, a joint industry com-
mittee be established to mediate sup-
ply and pricing disputes.

According to the IWA the committee
should be chaired by a representative
of the provincial government and
include representatives from primary
and remanufacturing groups in both
the province’s interior and coast. To
be effective, the joint committee must
have the power to alter supply agree-
ments between a primary supplier and
areman operation if such changes are
necessary.

The IWA is also concerned that to
remain competitive, it must have an
adequate employee skills training pro-
gram.

Brother Stoney told the committee
that industry has a major responsibili-

ty but that government has a responsi-
bility too.

The union says the number of
young people entering the workforce
over the next 20 years will continue to
decline. As such, employers will have
reduced chances to meet their skills
needs with new workers. Therefore
new skills will have to be taught to
existing workers.

_ Changes will hit the forest industry
in the future. Changes in the type of
wood supply, production systems,
consumer preferences and new mar-
ket opportunities are all forth coming.

Brother Stoney said the forest
industry is notorious for not keeping
enough apprentices around during
economic downturns. When the eco-
nomic cycle bounces back up, compa-
nies then rob each other of their
skilled trades or go off-shore to
acquire skilled labour.

Stoney said the government must
be there to ensure worker training
“because it won't happen by itself.”

To establish those programs, the
IWA says government, industry and
labour must work together to struc--
ture agreements on how training cur-
riculums are developed. We also need
to figure out what is the best way to
train workers and how it all could be

paid for.

2

2/LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1993