MTUC hails world body’s nod for SFI workers

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has welcomed the decision by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) International Board in siding with workers at the Sabah Forest Industries (SFI), a subsidiary of BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited. The workers had been engaged in a long fight for recognition of their union, the Sabah Timber Industries Employees Union (STIEU).

The union had already won a secret ballot in 2011 that had prompted the Minister of Human Resources to intervene and grant recognition. However, SFI/BILT challenged this by filing judicial review proceedings.

The FSC decision vindicates those workers who held steadfastly on to their rights throughout, added MTUC-Secretary General Gopal Kishnam in a statement. “SFI/BILT’s ‘behaviour’ throughout the dispute had been reprehensible.”

“Here is a company with no respect for workers. For over two decades, it has actively sought to avoid its legal obligations by every trick it can muster.”

These can only be considered the actions of a recalcitrant abuser of workers rights, which must be brought into line, he warned in the statement.

Engrit Liaw, General Secretary of STIEU, pointed out that while the sanctions imposed on SFI/BILT were of a far smaller magnitude than the suppression experienced by union members, SFI/BILT now have the chance to make things right. He alleged that the company had embarked on arbitrary dismissals and wage cuts and ignored serious health and safety issues.

“The power now sits with the company to stand on the side of the workers for change,” he said. “This can begin today by voluntarily recognizing STIEU as the genuine representative of the workers.”

He urged the company to comply with the conditions laid down by FSC, and start restoring the broken relationship they have with their workers. “They should immediately drop their Judicial Review case against the union. Failing to do this will hurt their bottom line.”

The FSC label operates as a market access tool for certified companies. However, where it’s clear that companies cannot comply with the terms required – such as respect for workers’ rights in the case of SFI/BILT – then they will be deprived of the label and the benefits it brings.

The case was brought by the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), the global union federation for construction and wood sector workers, regarding violation of ILO Conventions 87 (Freedom of Association) and 98 (Union Recognition and Collective Bargaining), from July 2009 to the present.

SFI/BILT must now satisfy a number of conditions and submit documentation detailing how they will meet the conditions by late June 2016 or FSC will disassociate BILT.

Full implementation is required by early October, otherwise BILT again risks disassociation.