n By Alan Jones
If you go down to the woods today, you will find Unite looking after forestry workers to make sure they have decent pay and conditions.
But trying to recruit members in an industry struggling to hire and retain workers is a tall order for any union. That’s what faces Unite in parts of the rural and agricultural sector, especially forestry, where responsibility for looking after some of the most important parts of the country has been split up between different nations of the United Kingdom.
The Forestry Commission used to be in charge of forestry in England, Wales and Scotland, after being set up in 1919 to expand Britain’s forests and woodland after depletion during the First World War.
Forestry Commission Wales was set up in 2013, and a new body, Forestry and Land Scotland, was established in 2019, branding itself as looking after ‘forests and land Scotland can be proud of.’
The Scottish government agency says the nation’s forests and land are incredibly valuable to the people of Scotland and its visitors. Unite is working to ensure its members are valued just as much.
Neil Grieve, a wildlife ranger in Galloway, South West Scotland, sees at first hand the issues the industry, and the union, are grappling with. As Unite’s lead rep for Scotland, Neil works tirelessly to improve the pay and conditions of workers, as well as representing union members in any individual grievance cases.
With hundreds of woods, forests and other destinations across Scotland, that means plenty of work for Neil. He told Landworker that in some parts of Scotland, the agency is around 40 per cent short of staff, blaming pay and conditions for failing to attract enough workers.
“Workers are getting up at 4 am but pay is less than it used to be because of the removal of an out of hours payment worth 17.5 per cent.
“A lot of people have moved to the private sector, and young people just don't see this industry as offering a decent career.”
Neil says that a recent Forestry and Land Scotland staff survey was “terrible” for the agency.
“Some comments said the organisation should ‘get a kicking’, but things haven’t changed. Management actually told us it was the union’s duty to boost morale.”
Neil and a colleague have met with Labour MSP Colin Smyth to bring him up to speed with the ongoing issues Unite members are facing within the agency and told him that the staff survey outcome was a very poor reflection on the organisation.
“We also made him aware of the staffing issues Forestry and Land Scotland are having, such as not being able to retain staff and not able to recruit.”
Unite has recruited a number of contract workers and sub- contractors, saying they are very concerned about the way new frameworks are being set up, with separate units within the agency.
Says Neil, “Where they have to bid, the rules state that the main tenderer is not able to go sub-contracting if he is unsuccessful, which we are sure is a way to force prices down.
“It’s clear from having discussions with the contractors that they have not all been updated on the changes, which I believe makes it unfair as most have put in their tenders without knowing things have changed.”
Neil says he also has concerns about whether all contractors and sub-contractors would be receiving the minimum wage and fair terms and conditions.
Unite is one of four trade unions with members in Forestry and Land Scotland, making negotiations and bargaining even more of a challenge. Unite members in the sector also work at holiday sites, which are expected to be busier this year as more people decide to have a ‘staycation’ holiday in this country.
Forestry and Land Scotland and Forestry England have bought a number of secluded forest sites from the Camping and Caravanning Club, highlighting the diversity of work
23 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2022
undertaken by Unite members across all forms of agriculture.
Other developments include an apprenticeship initiative by the Forestry Commission in England, said to be the first of its kind, aimed at fostering a highly skilled and more diverse workforce.
The Development Woodland Officer programme, which offers a three-year, paid development opportunity, is jointly led by the Forestry Commission, the University of Cumbria and the Institute of Chartered Foresters, marking the first time that a degree-level forestry apprenticeship has been offered in the UK.
The government said it will help deliver its tree planting and woodland creation ambitions over the coming years.
Bev Clarkson, Unite national officer, is at the heart of the union’s campaign to win decent pay and conditions across all sectors. Speaking about forestry workers, she told Landworker, “These people worked through the Covid pandemic but have not been rewarded.
“These are dedicated workers who go into forestry because to them it is a vocation, yet they have been given a below inflation pay increase. They don’t want to take industrial action, and the management knows that.”
Unite is campaigning to increase its membership among forestry workers across the country, strengthening its drive to make sure workers’ pay keeps up with soaring inflation.
Unite’s Sharon Graham is totally focused on winning better pay and conditions for all Unite members and has supported campaigns across the country since becoming general secretary.
In her reaction to the recent Queen’s Speech she pledged that, “Unite will remain focused on protecting jobs, raising pay and improving lives, and I am determined that we will wake up Westminster in the process.”
If you do go down to the woods on any day, it won’t be a surprise to find Unite campaigning to make sure forestry workers can afford a decent picnic.
See pages 32 and 33
Mark Harvey
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