The union umbrella organisation the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) has praised the latest version of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council‘s (MTCC) certification scheme.
The MTCC’s new chain of custody programme demands that companies beyond the “forest’s edge” which undertake further processing of certified timber observe the same strict social and health and safety rules for workers as the forestry companies themselves.
The Swiss-based IFBWW, which has 284 affiliate unions in 128 countries, says that this development makes the MTCC scheme “the most far-reaching for social standards of any existing forest certification system”.
The IFBWW in particular commended the Malaysian certification for the focus on occupational health and safety regulations and on giving local people priority for employment in forest products and timber operations. It also recognised the scheme’s stipulation that certified companies observe the rights of workers to organise and negotiate terms and conditions according to the rules of the International Labour Organisation Conventions of 1987 and 1998.
“With the inclusion of these requirements, the MTCC standards can begin to fulfil the promise of forest certification and will give consumers what they are demanding, ‘conflict-free’ forest products,” said IFBWW regional representative Balan Nair. “If they see the MTCC label, consumers will no longer have to worry whether wood from sustainably-managed forests is manufactured by mills that deny workers decent or safe work.”
“No other certification system ensures that workers and their communities are protected throughout the entire manufacturing process,” said IFBWW global programme director William Street.
The MTCC said that unless certification schemes apply the same social standards and rules on workers rights along the processing chain, consumers could be misled into thinking that a labelled product “meets these standards, when in fact they are only applied to the first step in the process, the management of the forest”.
