Since January 1, almost all of UPM's paper and forestry mills in Finland have been closed due to an employee strike. Members of the Paperworkers' Union, who had launched a call to strike last December They were joined by two other Finnish unions, the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union and Trade Union Pro. Together they represent 3000 UPM employees.
As a result, UPM's Jämsänkoski, Rauma, Kymi and Tervasaari paper mills, Kaukas pulp and biorefinery, Pietarsaari pulp mill and UPM Raflatac Tampere label materials factory are shut down.
The strike does not affect the Group's plywood and veneer division (UPM Plywood) and sawmill division (UPM Timber), both of which signed company-specific collective agreements in December.
UPM says that it tried to enter into negotiations with the union behind the movement last spring, but did not get a response. "Since the terms and conditions of employment could not be discussed, the UPM companies announced temporary working conditions to the union members in November. These conditions are in effect until a new agreement is reached."
The Paperworkers' Union says it is still prepared to negotiate company-specific agreements, but says the company has not agreed to do so. "UPM wants to decentralize employee contracts from the corporate level to specific contracts for the divisions of the group and terminate employee contracts completely."
The unions also denounce UPM's offer of a bonus for employees who perform their tasks during the strike. "UPM's actions constitute a clear violation of the principle of equal treatment of employees and a violation of the freedom of association. (...) The procedure is therefore contrary to Finnish law."
The work stoppage will continue until January 22, 2022 unless a new collective bargaining agreement is reached by then.
