However, at the Congress of the Timber Workers Union of the Russian Federation on the 17-18th of November in Moscow, delegates stated that the current government forest management is ineffective. The Congress adopted a resolution that addressed two main challenges in the wood and forestry sectors; lack of decent wages and poor policies regarding sustainable forestry development.
The resolution highlighted that wages in the forestry sector only make up 65 per cent of the average wage in the Russian Federation – while in the wood sector workers receive wages on the level of the subsistence minimum.
The resolution further stated that in order to raise living standards in the wood and forestry branches there is a need to implement a decent wage concept that provides economic independence for workers and their families and promotes development of human rights.
127 delegates from different regions of Russia attended the Congress as well as guests from brother unions, international organizations and representatives of sectoral government authorities.
The Congress elected the young trade union leader Denis Zhuravlev to be the president of the Timber Workers Unions of the Russian Federation for the next 4 years.