DESWOOD

Project facts

Project promoter:
Federation of Lithuanian Forest and Wood Worker Trade Unions
Project Number:
IN22-0008
Target groups
Unemployed
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€71,494
Final project cost:
€71,431
From Norway Grants:
€ 64,287
The project is carried out in:
Lithuania

More information

Description

The project objective is to prepare and sign a collective agreement between a branch of the forest system employers’ organization and the Directorate General of State Forests at the Environment Ministry Republic of Lithuania. This will be one of the first branch agreements in Lithuania and its aim is to improve the agreement for the salaries of individual categories of industry workers, to improve the definition of health and safety criteria and general social benefits, which would increase the competence of employees and promote productivity and quality. The project will contribute to more efficient work of foresters and contribute to the implementation of decent work. During implementation, the project will organize four training seminars, seven discussions in work groups and eight round table meetings. The project will also adjust existing collective agreements and sign new ones. The project is expected to result in a signed collective agreement (legal document) between the Federation and the Directorate General of State Forests in the Environment Ministry in Lithuania at the final conference. Industri Energi will share experience and good practice.

Summary of project results

he objective of the project was to prepare and sign a sectoral agreement with the employers’ organization for forestry - the Directorate General of State Forests at the Environment Ministry Republic of Lithuania. This project was especially targeting the forestry sector, which consists of 42 companies; each of them has between 60 and 150 employees. When the project started there was no legal framework for the responsibilities of employers' organizations to commit to and to sign a collective contract with workers' representatives in wages, occupational safety and health, work and rest and other social issues. Forestry enterprises are located all over the country and are remote from regional centers. Therefore, employees needed information and advice and a deeper knowledge of decent work as well as competence and motivation to make improvements in this area. In the frame of the projects 4 training seminars, 7 discussions in work groups and 15 round table meetings have been organized for employees and trade union’s leaders . The main output of the project was the signing of the Branch Collective Agreement. This is the first document of its kind in the industrial sector in Lithuania. The agreement has been registered in the Social Security and Labor Ministry. The signing of the sectoral agreement marked the first steps in Lithuania to move from collective bargaining at enterprise level to a branch level. The agreement includes a lot of important articles such as employees’ wages, safety and health and social issues, which would encourage employees to upgrade their skills, increase productivity and improve the quality of work and allow employees to feel dignified.

Summary of bilateral results

The project had huge input into the bilaterial relations with our Norwegian partner Industri Energi. The achieved results of the project are results of the joint efforts and activities of the Project Promoter and the Project Partner. There is still much to do with regard to the social dialogue in Lithuania and the agreement with the partner is for future cooperation.