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e FRBC jobs must be reviewed to see if they are meeting planned objectives.

GINS Sean

Industry contracts must change
to meet FRBC commitments

by Ron Corbeil
FRBC Coordinator

With New Forest Opportunities
Ltd. closing in on completing its sec-
ond year of operation, it is now time
to review whether or not it is meet-
ing its planned objectives as spelled
out in the Jobs & Timber Accord.

The objectives of New Forest
Opportunities are to provide long-
term jobs, family Supporting Jobs
and fair access to jobs with local pri-
ority.

In most cases these objectives are
not being met and will not be met
unless some fundamental changes
in the way the silviculture industry
work takes place.

At issue is the way work is con-
tracted out. Presently contracts are
put out on a project by project basis

_ with many contracts being short in
duration. For example company “A”
maybe the successful bidder on a 20

hectare spacing contract but come ~

in second to Company “B” for
another 20 hectare spacing contract,
only one month later in the same
area. Another example that may

run counter productive to the Jobs:

& Timber Accord is when three or
four projects are put out to contract
at the same time, (it must be real-
ized that due to biological windows
there may be times when certain

SS SSS

activities) must be completed expe-
ditiously, thereby employing a lot of
people for a short time.

These examples only help to prop-
agate the cyclical transient nature
of the silviculture industry.

In order to provide some stability
to the silviculture industry licens-
des and the Ministry of Forests
need to plan ahead and provide
linkage between projects providing
the successful contractor (and
employees) continuity of employ-
ment.

The vast majority of the I.W.A.
members who are working for New
Forest Opportunities whom I have
met and talked to certainly dispel
the myth of the transient nomadic
silviculture worker. What these
members want is much the same as
most workers and that is a stable
job with decent wages and condi-
tions.

Licensees should treat silvicul-
ture contracts in the same way they
treat stump-to-dump contracts.
That is to provide the contractor
and his crew with enough work as
to provide a decent year.

Unless we can get away from this
piecemeal approach long-term,
family-supporting jobs that provide
stability to local communities will
always be an objective but never a
reality.

10/LUMBERWORKER/DECEMBER, 1999

Photo courtesy FRBC

NewForest placements
say conditions better

At the time of writing in early
December, and since April 1 of this
year, New Forest Opportunities has
made 1,720 placements on 218 pro-
jects with 832 individual employees.

Long-time silviculture worker
Doug Robinson was asked if New
Forest Opportunities is working.
Doug notes he has been luckier than
most as far as the amount of work he
has got but adds “if there is no more
work until next April it will not have
been a good year.

Doug points out that there is more
work opportunities in the Fraser Val-
ley than in the past. “Before New For-
est, pruning contracts paid $7 an
hour, now at least you can make rea-
sonable money.”

Doug feels the wages have
increased slightly, contractors are
living up to the employment stan-
dards and the crews he has worked
with have been more “professional”
than in the past. Doug says “that the
union has sometimes been unfairly
criticized for the lack of work.” He
adds, “unless more money is put into
enhanced forestry the whole indus-
try will soon suffer due to a lack of
allowable cut and quality of timber.”

Francois Ducas who has been a
spacer for over 22 years has found
that being an I.W.A. member and
working for New Forest Opportuni-
ties has provided him benefits that
he has never had in the past. The
frustration Francois has, has been
the lack of work. “Unless things
improve I will have to look for some-
thing else. But when I did work, it
was great knowing you would get
pal every two weeks. In the past I

ave had trouble getting paid a few
times.”

He added, “having the benefit
package has been really good, this is
the first RRSP. I have ever had, too
bad it didn’t start 22 years ago.”

Ingmar Lee, who has just returned

to the silviculture industry after a
stint at university reflects on his first
New Forest Opportunities project.

“I am now an ‘honorary I.W.A,
member.’ I’m not sure what that
means yet, but so far, I must say that.
there is a distinctly different woe
atmosphere on the crew as compar
with what I’m used to.”

“There is still production incen-
tive, so the crew seems to be putting
out, and the rewards have been very
satisfactory,” he says. “I am making
significantly more money than I have
ever made at pruning, and for the
spacing, it’s been about the same.”

He says that there is a $1.20/hour
going into his registered retirement
savings plan which is the first one
he’s ever had. In addition there is
$0.75/hr. going into medical and den-
tal premiums.

Lee was given the option of work-
ing close to home and is commuting
to and from work for the first time in
his 18 year career in the bush.

He said that NewFo work offers
better treatment than what was
“standard fare” from contractors.

“We were treated respectfully,
considerations were taken for our
safety and comfort and we were paid
reasonable wages for the work that

we did. For the first time in 18 sea- ~

sons (years) of silvicultural work, it
felt really good to know that there
was a place to address concerns and
grievances too, and it was clear that
the contractor was behaving accord-

ingly.

fter reviewing the I.W.A.-
NewFo collective agreement, I can
say this is a really good start for the
silviculture workers of B.C., to carve
out their proper niche within the B.C.
forest industry and to be finally
accepted as part and parcel of the
working forest.”

- with notes from Ron Corbeil

¢ Silvicultural workers require stable jobs with decent pay and conditions.

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