The International Labour Organisation (ILO, or International Labour Organisation – ILO) held a tripartite meeting of experts in Geneva from 13-17 May with the aim of updating and improving the 1998 ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forestry Work. The proposals discussed and approved during the tripartite talks will form the basis for the new edition of the document, which is likely to be published in its final version in the autumn of this year. As before, the updated code of practice will serve as guidance for policymakers, practitioners and stakeholders to promote safety and health in forestry.

The meeting was attended by 24 experts—eight each representing employers, workers, and governments. Representatives from the forest certification organisations PEFC and FSC also participated as observers.

Northern European forestry practice was represented at the expert level by Mikko Rissanen from the Finnish government and Kristīne Rapa, Chair of the Trade Union of the Latvian Forest Sector. She notes that it was a great honour to represent the workers of our region during this historic process. The code of practice was originally published in 1998, and this is the first time in 26 years that it has been revised to reflect changes in the industry and the working environment, as well as the roles of responsible authorities, employers, contractors, those employed in the sector, and their representative organisations.

“The code is considered the only international, comprehensive set of guidelines for the safety and health of workers in the forestry sector. Not every industry has such a thing, and this clearly shows both the great importance of forestry and, unfortunately, its high level of danger. This is especially true in equatorial regions and countries with poorly developed occupational safety legislation, specific logging conditions, and climates that are detrimental to health,” says Kristīne Rapa, noting that the experts at the meeting agreed on many significant improvements that had been proposed by workers' representatives. She acknowledges that very close cooperation was established with the working group formed by government representatives, while the most significant discussions took place with employers.

“I am pleased that the code will incorporate all the proposals put forward by me and my colleague from Finland regarding work environment risks during forestry work in winter. Until now, all attention was focused on risks related to working in the heat, but the risks arising from working for long periods in low temperatures had been overlooked. At the suggestion of the workers' group representatives, the code has also been supplemented with a section on tree nurseries. In total, the document describes the duties, roles, responsibilities, and rights of all parties involved in forestry activities with regard to workplace risks. The working group endeavoured to cover the majority of currently identified threats and risks associated with forestry,” says Kristīne Rapa. She adds that the goal of the code is to promote effective consultation and cooperation between governments, employers, workers, and their organisations and representatives, in accordance with international standards for occupational safety and health, in order to improve health and safety in forestry.

Once the ILO's Governing Body has approved the document and all resolutions drafted at the meeting of experts, they will become ILO documents that governments and national employers' and workers' organisations can act upon individually or collectively.

For Latvia, this document will be recommendatory, as ILO sectoral codes of practice are reference instruments that establish principles that can be reflected in the development and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes, legislation, administrative measures, and social dialogue mechanisms in specific sectors of the economy. Just as is currently happening in many developing countries around the world, occupational safety requirements for logging in Latvia were once developed directly on the basis of the ILO code.

ILO is the only tripartite UN agency, which since 1919 has brought together government, employer, and worker representatives from 187 member states to set labour standards, develop policies, and devise programmes promoting decent work for all workers. The organisation's conventions are binding on those member states that have ratified them.

Used © Violaine Martin / ILO photo: Participants of the ILO tripartite meeting of experts in Geneva