Woodworkers Union against increase in tree stumpage

The General Secretary of the Timber and Woodworkers Union of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Joshua Ansa, has warned that the projected 50 per cent increase in tree stumpage by the end of the year would throw 30,000 workers out of job.

He said the Forestry Commission, mandated by law to review stumpage, had planned to increase tree stumpage by the end of his year.

The commission, for eight years now, has not reviewed the fee due to falling prices of wood products.

Stumpage is the commercial timber value of the tree as it stands in the forest, which either can fall or rise due to prevailing market forces. It is charged per cubic metre volume and varies with the type of tree species.

However, the commission in April this year announced new stumpage rates which ranged from 10 to 150 per cubic metre, representing an increase of between 100-300 per cent.

Firms struggling

The general secretary of the union said the projected increase from the current rate, scheduled to take effect by the end of the year, would throw 30,000 workers out of job because the  industry could not absorb the rate.

He said currently, only about 30 timber firms were functional, and could barely meet their overhead cost, implying that any additional cost to production would only lead to job losses.

“If stumpage remains high, companies will be forced to harvest only high value species for export and the local market will suffer. The situation may also encourage illegal logging,” he said.

Mr Ansa said the industry was not against the planned increase in principle but would rather stagger to save thousands of jobs and their dependants.   

He added that the future of the timber industry was bleak and cautioned that Ghana risked the Dutch diseases owing to her over-reliance on oil and other resources for foreign income.

He referred to the recent upward adjustment in electricity tariffs and wondered how the struggling 45 timber firms would be able to hold their own against such daunting economic challenges.