14 September 2025
BWI's decent work program for the Amazon: A proposal for COP30
On the eve of the International Day of Action for the Amazon, and in anticipation of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) launched a new proposal for the Amazonian region. The initiative, called the Decent Work Program for the Amazon, was developed by the BWI's Amazonian Trade Union Network and aims to place workers at the center of discussions about the future of the world's largest tropical forest.
The program is a direct response to the severe socio-environmental crisis gripping the region, where forest degradation is closely tied to precarious work and social vulnerability. Data from the area is alarming: the informal work rate in the Legal Amazon is nearly 20% higher than in the rest of Brazil, and the average income of workers is 40% lower.
Key Points of the Proposal
The Decent Work Program for the Amazon calls for concrete commitments, including:
- Union Participation: Ensuring that unions have a seat at the table at COP30 and in all policy-making processes for the Amazon.
- Combating Exploitation: Strengthening efforts to eradicate slave-like labour and child labor, which are major issues in the region.
- Creation of Green Jobs: Directing resources from funds like the Amazon Fund and the Climate Fund to support sustainable forest management and land restoration, creating decent jobs.
- Rights of Amazonian Peoples: Protecting the territorial rights and guaranteeing the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, Quilombola communities, and other traditional communities.
- Improved Working Conditions: Promoting the formalization of informal work, providing professional training, and ensuring health and safety standards in the workplace.
The proposal emphasizes that COP30, being held for the first time in an Amazonian capital, has a unique opportunity to create a lasting legacy by improving living conditions for the region's people. BWI believes it's time for Amazonian workers to speak to the world, rather than have the world speak for them.
For more information, go here.