Forestry Commission Trade Unions - www.fctu.org.uk
Forestry Commission Trade Unions
Welcome to the website of the Forestry Commission Trade Unions (FCTU). This website is designed to provide news and information to Forestry Commission staff who are members of either the PCS, Unite, Prospect or GMB trade unions (About Us). We are regularly adding new content—so if you have any comments on the site or suggestions for improvements then please do get in touch.
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Latest News
Reaction to the Independent Panel's Progress Report 20th January 2012
Following the panel publishing their interim report, we have had some time to consider thier findings so far, and look at if these reflect our aspirations: an expanded Public Forest Estate, publicly owned and managed by a properly resourced Forestry Commission. Click here to see this briefing.
Trade Union Officials - Motion to Refund Pay to Employers 19th January 2012
A debate in the Commons about bringing in a Bill to refund the money spent on union activity back to the employer was held recently and as can bee seen in our extract here, union activity in the workplace is recognised as being something of real value and that the misinformation being promoted by the Taxpayers Alliance completely misses the point and value of workplace union activity. The failure of this debate to raise a Bill will be powerful ammunition in our fight to preserve facility time and may encourage more members to become active.
Independent Panel on Forestry - Progress Report 9th December 2011
The panel have published their interim report on their findings thus far. Click here to view a briefing from the FCTU, highlighting some extracts with relevance to the FC.
Single Environment Body in Wales 1st December 2011
Staff will have seen the letter from the Director General on the Welsh Government's decision to set up the Single Environment Body (SEB) which will include Forestry Commission Wales. This will herald a huge change in how public forests are managed in Wales and across Great Britain. Click here to see a briefing from the FCTU on this announcement.
FCTU Annual General Meeting 25th November 2011
The FCTU AGM was held on 22 & 23 November in Silvan House. Recapping on the unions' work done over the past 12 months and discussing current issues including the future governance of the FC, the creation of a Single Environment Body in Wales, SR10, the Voluntary Exit Scheme, Redeployment and the industrial action on the pensions dispute, a very worthwhile meeting was held. The AGM report can be viewed here.
FE England Workstreams Consultation 14th October 2011
FCTU England have now reponded to the consultation of Forest Enterprise worksteams. This can be viewed here. It is our belief, as we have pointed out in this reponse, that the service we provide to the public is being seriously threatened with these proposals...
Pay Imposition 6th October 2011
Staff will have received the Pay Notice outlining the settlement for the next year. All of the Unions strongly believe that in effect this is an imposed settlement which was not subject to negotiation. We oppose the pay policy on which the offer is based and believe there are alternatives to public service cuts. Avoiding the unjust imposition of a pay freeze which will only serve to damage staff morale and impose further financial detriment on all our members.
The FC obtained legal advice supporting the view that pay progression is not a contractual obligation. Our position on pay progression is stated in our letter to Director HR here. The FC are however unable to operate outwith their legal advice.
We recognise that the FC have exceeded the £250 minimum protection for the lower paid contained in the policy and have agreed this will not be pro-rated for part time staff in 2011-12. However even this amount will still leave the vast majority of staff earning less than £21,000 facing a real terms cut in their living standards.
Given the unjust, unfair and non-negotiated pay policy restrictions imposed by Westminster, we were not able to engage further with this “offer” and therefore could not ballot members on an offer that we were not able to properly negoitate on and give input to.
FCTU Responses to SR10 in GB & FR 19th August 2011
The FCTU have now formally responded to the SR10 consultations for Forest Research, Silvan House Shared Services & GB Core, England HR, Finance & IT.
Response to Independent Forest Advisory Panel 1st August 2011
The FCTU have submitted an in-depth response to the panel's call for views, particularly focussing on what makes FC staff so professional and what added value the FC brings. Click here to view.
Consultations Launched for FC GB & FR UPDATED 27th June 2011
SR10 consultation and related documents are now available for staff in Forest Research, GB & Corporate Forestry Support, Westminster Corporate Functions, Shared Services, IFOS and England Finance & IT. We urge all members to look closely at what is being proposed, talk to your local trade union rep and colleagues and submit your response to these proposals...
Environment Delivery Options (EDO) for Wales 21st June 2011
A written statement to Assembly members identified the need to examine whether the existing arrangements for delivering the Welsh Governments environmental policies would be appropriate to deliver the needs of its new Natural Environmental Framework (NEF). A conclusion still has to be reached as to how the various environmental bodies in Wales could best work together to deliver the outcomes from this framework...
SR10 Implemation Plan in England- Next Steps UPDATED 21st June 2011
A meeting was held on 21 June between the Departmental Committee and FCTU England to discuss the way forward for members being affected by the rollout of SR10 across England
Science & Technology Select Committee - Inquiry Into Forest Research 15th June 2011
The Commons Science & Technology Select Committee agreed on 11 May 2011 to launch a new inquiry examining forest research as part of the ongoing monitoring of the Spending Review 2010, and called for evidence on Forest Research...