Pioneering trade union initiative on forest conservation
Published: 27 January 1999
In January 1999, the Athens Labour Centre held a seminar on the conservation of Attica's forests. This environmental initiative is the first such action undertaken by a Greek trade union organisation
Download article in original language : GR9901109NEL.DOC
In January 1999, the Athens Labour Centre held a seminar on the conservation of Attica's forests. This environmental initiative is the first such action undertaken by a Greek trade union organisation
On 18 January 1999, the Athens Labour Centre (EKA) held a seminar entitled Conservation of Attica's forests, an urgent social need. The main aim of the meeting was to allow all bodies involved in this area to register their views, before proceeding to implement actions.
The EKA initiative on saving the forests is unique in terms of the initiatives and actions usually undertaken by Greece's trade unions. It is part of a broader area of EKA activity concerning issues related to workers' quality of life and protection of the environment. The Attica forests initiative got under way at the end of summer 1998, and the seminar held in January 1999 marks the end of the first stage of EKA actions and the beginning of the next, which will be to monitor, and help create and implement a policy for, the forests. More specifically, EKA has taken the initiative to coordinate the bodies (scientific, social, trade union) involved in protection of the forests, moving towards creation of a common base of demands for drawing up and implementing a forests policy, in the framework of an environmental policy aimed at sustainable development. These demands cover both immediate measures for protection of the forests, and the need to shape a long-term policy to rescue and develop Greece's forest resources.
So far, 18 bodies have already responded to EKA' s call, and have drawn up a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister, the competent Ministries (Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation, Ministry of the Environment, Planning and Public Works, and Ministry of Public Order and Ministry of Agriculture) and all the leaders of the parliamentary political parties. It is the aim of all involved that this initiative should take on a permanent character and monitor developments closely.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Pioneering trade union initiative on forest conservation, article.
