Rhodope forestry workers looking for solutions to problems!
Forestry co-operatives, which bring together forestry workers who earn their living by cutting wood in the Rhodope region under the same roof, are looking for solutions to the problems experienced by their members.
The cooperatives of foresters established in different villages of Rhodope province are struggling to solve some of the problems that negatively affect forest workers in economic terms.
A total of 6 forestry co-operatives are active in the Rhodope region, namely Mehrikoz, Besikli, Urpek, Kaypak, Gerdeme and Gerdeme B.
Forest workers, who have been cutting wood in forested areas for years, are looking for a solution to the economic difficulties caused by some recent problems.
Halit Kaşayka, President of the Ürpek Forestry Cooperative, after consultations with other cooperatives operating in the region, on 26 October 2023, together with Nikos Çalikidis, Vice-President of the State of Rhodope, explained the problems of forestry workers to the authorities at the Ministry of Environment and Energy and demanded a solution.
Last week, Halit Kashayka told Lawyer Deniz Mehmet about the problems of forestry workers. Lawyer Deniz Mehmet told the head of the co-operative that he is with them and supports them in solving the problems faced by forestry workers in the region.
The problems and demands of the 6 forestry co-operatives operating in the Rhodope region are the same. Among the problems that the forestry workers who are members of these co-operatives want to be solved, the following stand out:
- In order for a person to become a member of a forestry cooperative, they must attend both theoretical and 50-day practical training seminars organised by the Forestry Directorate at regular intervals. Since the seminars are not held all the time and are held at certain intervals after a certain number of forestry workers have been gathered, this prevents easy membership to cooperatives and makes the process more difficult. The request of the co-operative managements in terms of membership is that the co-operatives can also provide training seminars for those who want to become forestry workers. This will speed up the membership process. Otherwise, the long waiting period causes young people to leave the region and go abroad to work.
- The livelihood of the forest workers depends entirely on the wood that is cut and sold through the co-operative. During the felling of this wood, the forest labourers cut down the old trees in the forest and at the same time clear the forest of brushwood. However, they do not receive any money for this cleaning work. The forest workers' request in this regard is that this cleaning work should be economically supported and reciprocated by the state.
- Until 2005, forestry workers used to buy the tools they used in logging at cheaper prices thanks to the European Union programmes that existed. In recent years, such programmes have been discontinued. Forestry workers demand that the programmes implemented in the past years, which enabled them to purchase equipment more economically, be restarted.
- Another important economic problem of forestry co-operatives is the purchase of wood from abroad. Because this problem makes it difficult for them to sell the wood they cut throughout the year. Their demand is that domestic wood should be prioritised.
Raif Feyiz, the President of Gerdeme Forestry Cooperative, shared his views with MILLET on the struggle of Halit Kaşayka, the President of Ürpek Forestry Cooperative, who visited the Ministry of Environment and Energy together with Nikos Çalikis, the Deputy State President for the Rhodope Unit, and shared the problems with Av. Deniz Mehmet. Raif Feyiz stated that Halit Kaşayka contacted them before his meeting in Athens to explain the problems of forestry workers and to convey the demands of the cooperatives, and added that the problems faced by all forestry cooperatives and their members in the Rhodope region are similar and that they expect their demands to be met.
