Tree planting job valued

Strict standards ensure they’re treated well for doing hard work

Re: It ain’t what it used to be; Romance of wilderness still there for tree planters, but not money, June 13

The article’s dismal remark “nearly half of fieldworkers reported earning less than minimum wage” is not true. Planting’s unusual pay system may confuse. Rookies earn less than minimum wage at their piece rate, but during training contractors top-up earnings to minimum wage as they are obliged to do. Often if a rookie can’t plant enough trees per day to earn more than minimum wage they are let go. No rookie earns $2,000 in the first week, but each year one or two plant 2,000 trees per day in the first week. Kinesiologists say tree planting is the hardest job in Canada, perhaps in the world. Planters exert Olympic energy levels all day so planters are treated like athletes, fed the best food, work three days on, one off, eat and live together, and are provided with first aid support appropriate for extreme work in an extreme environment. B.C.’s Labour relations, Employment Standards and both Health and WorkSafe Inspectors have evolved with the industry to understand these unique operations and provide appropriate disciplined oversight. The Sun noted of a total of 27 Employment Standards complaints over the last four years from B.C.’s 4,400 planters, all resolved but two. That is a good statistic. Through the competitive contractor marketplace, improvements to best operating practices are continuous. So no, “it ain’t what it used to be,” rather, “it’s better than it used to be.”

DIRK BRINKMAN CEO, Brinkman Group