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Employers threaten to prolong lockout in Finnish pulp and paper industry

Employers threaten to prolong lockout in Finnish pulp and paper industry

No further progress has been made in collective bargaining for the Finnish pulp and paper industry. All of the principal issues were still undecided after the last meeting of negotiators on Wednesday 25 May. The Finnish Paperworkers’ Union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation are to resume negotiations on Monday 30 May.

A lockout began in the pulp and paper industry on 18 May. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation has threatened to continue this measure until a settlement is reached on terms and conditions of employment. The lockout prevents unionised employees from working and receiving wages in the industry. As a counter-measure, the Paperworkers’ Union has, for the duration of the lockout, called a strike in the limited areas of the pulp and paper industry that otherwise fall beyond the scope of the lockout announced by the employers.

The lockout by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation has been strongly criticised in Finland. For example, at its meeting last week the General Council of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions &#;8211 SAK condemned the unilateral effort of the forest industry employers to enforce an unreasonable deterioration in terms of employment. The General Council called on the employers to return to an equitable bargaining position that respects the interests of both sides of the industry. In its resolution the General Council also stressed that the ability to reach consensus is one of the strengths of Finnish working life, and that this should not be abandoned through a momentary lapse of reason.

A survey published by SAK this week showed widespread public disapproval of the lockout in Finland. Only about one-third (36 per cent) of respondents considered the lockout to be justified. Three-quarters (77 per cent) of the Finnish public in turn expressed the hope that the paperworkers would achieve their goal of a collective agreement in line with the general incomes policy settlement.

Although the Paperworkers Union has yet to call for practical support from other trade unions in Finland, the unions affiliated to SAK are among those that have already announced their readiness to support the paperworkers in the event that any agreed sympathetic measures are requested.

The Finnish Paperworkers’ Union has also received support from abroad. The Swedish pulp and paper industry trade union Pappers is supporting its sister trade union in Finland with an overtime ban at the mills of Stora Enso, Metsä-Tissue, M-real and Ahlström in Sweden. The Swedish trade unions in the construction, engineering, electrical, and timber and forestry industries have announced that they will support this overtime ban by refusing to perform any work that falls within the scope of the ban.

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