Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) affiliates from five countries approve a two-year plan for the Amazon with decent work at its core 

The Amazonian Trade Union Network (ATUN), convened by BWI, held its fourth annual planning seminar in Manaus, Brazil in August. 

The meeting brought together union leaders from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to open a new cycle for the network, pushing for an Amazon with climate justice and decent work.  

Sessions covered the political context in Brazil, environmental issues, challenges facing unions, forest certification and digital mobilisation. Delegates also discussed how to carry the region’s climate fight to the sixth BWI World Congress in Sao Paulo from November16-20.  

A two-year plan for the Amazon 

The seminar’s central outcome was the approval of the strategic action plan for the next two years, built around four pillars: training, organising, communication and mobilisation. 

Among its guidelines, the plan sets out to: 

• expand ATUN to new states and Amazon countries; 

• roll out training and empowerment activities for affiliates; 

• build political influence around Brazil’s elections while confronting the far right; 

• create a Pact for Decent Work; and 

• introduce climate justice and extreme-heat clauses into collective bargaining. 

The new strategic plan aims to position the Amazon’s workers and BWI affiliates in the region as central actors in the post-COP30 fight for climate rights and justice. 

Watch: Forest Hands 

Alongside the new strategic plan, BWI released  Forest Hands: The Path of the Amazonian Trade Union Network - a short documentary produced with support from DGB Bildungswerk. It premiered on International Amazon Rainforest Day, 5 September. 

Filmed with workers, communities and unions across the Amazon region, it calls for sustained international cooperation to protect rainforests around the world. The documentary also shows how unions are fighting for decent work, dignity and sustainable forest management in the region.