Joint statement between EU forest sector & labour unions shows blue collar jobs can be green collar jobs

The European forestry and forest-based bioeconomy sector, gathered within the Circular Choices Coalition, represents 3% of EU GDP and one in five manufacturing companies in the EU.

The transition to a circular economy in the EU must prioritise competitiveness, fairness and inclusivity, aiming to sustain and generate quality jobs while fostering innovation through the development of new and existing bio-based products. These are the conclusion of discussions held by social partners and stakeholders gathered in Brussels last November, including Member of the European Parliament Inese Vaidere and Sven Matzke, acting Head of Unit for social dialogue at the European Commission.

A Clean Industrial Deal and the expected sustainable and affordable housing initiative should contribute to overcoming the challenges the industry faces in making this green transition happen while increasing investment in social, public, energy-efficient and sustainable living spaces. 

The associations co-signing the joint statement released today acknowledge that such new industrial framework aims to help alleviate the industry’s burden, but in order to support the industry’s contribution to the Green Deal, the practical implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal and revitalising the construction sector will ensure that Europe becomes competitive again by fostering innovation and investment in future green technologies, products and solutions, and by promoting social progress and just transition, while ensuring good quality jobs. 

To ensure good quality industrial jobs across Europe, the co-signatories call to policymakers for: 

•    Training and job-to-job transition.
•    Identify, assess, and prepare for the impacts of the industrial transition.
•    Guarantee high quality jobs throughout the industrial transition.
•    Build, rebuild and strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining structures at all levels across Europe.
•    Increase investments on Research and Development (R&D) and access to finance for decarbonisation.

Jori Ringman, Cepi Director General said:

“Our industries are not trying to create new societal needs, but rather to satisfy existing ones in a way that works for our planet. This transition will not happen without workers. We must ensure that the new jobs being created are quality jobs, following the values of the European social model.”

Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s  General Secretary said:

“Quality jobs are at the heart of a just transition. They must guarantee the right to organize, collective bargaining, fair wages, proper training, and healthy workplaces. A just transition isn’t just a paper concept – it must deliver for real people on the ground, but this is only possible if there is negotiated transition planning with the involvement of those directly affected. With forest-based bioeconomy industries already representing 4 million skilled jobs and with the potential to create many more, policy-driven frameworks must guide this transformation, ensuring that workers have access to the job-to-job transitions, upskilling and retraining needed.”

Ivan Ivanov, Political Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, EFFAT said:

“Quality jobs are direct jobs covered by collective agreements, ensuring good and safe working conditions as well as training and upskilling that lead to career advancement and job-to-job transitions. In the forestry sector, such jobs need to match increasing job requirements linked to the impact of climate change and extreme weather. They shall be guaranteed and created at the scale that is needed. The circular bioeconomy is predicted to create many new quality jobs while promoting the transition to climate neutrality. For a fair and just transition, we need to deploy and strengthen social dialogue and collective bargaining in the anticipation and management of this transformation.”

Read the joint statement here