Pulp and paper industry strike begins in Finland

A strike lasting for more than two days began in the Finnish pulp and paper industry on the evening of Sunday 15 May. Although National Conciliator Juhani Salonius continued to assist negotiations on Saturday, he eventually announced that no settlement proposal could be formulated. The parties to the dispute, the Finnish Paperworkers' Union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, are due to meet again on the morning of Tuesday 17 May.

The Finnish Forest Industries Federation, representing the employers, has announced a two-week lockout, which is due to begin immediately after the strike ends on Wednesday morning unless a negotiated settlement has been reached. A lockout means that union members are prevented from coming to work and their pay is stopped. Lockouts are highly unusual in Finnish industrial disputes. They generally occur only during partial strikes, when employers sometimes enforce a lockout at workplaces that are not on strike. The sole aim of the current lockout by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation is to impair the terms of service of employees in the pulp and paper industry.

The background to the present dispute is the unwillingness of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation to abide by the comprehensive incomes policy settlement that was made in December for a period of two and a half years and already covers more that 80 per cent of employees in Finland. The Finnish Paperworkers' Union was originally prepared to accept the terms of service offered by the national settlement, and it has maintained this aim as a fundamental collective bargaining position. By contrast, the employers have brought several proposals to the negotiating table that would impair the situation of employees, including a two-day waiting period before sick pay begins, an end to production shutdowns at pulp and paper mills over the Christmas and Midsummer holidays and deregulation of the use of outside labour. Under the present collective agreement for the pulp and paper industry, outsourcing of permanent functions and the use of subcontractors are allowed only when this is agreed by both sides of the industry.

Speaking on Monday Lauri Ihalainen, President of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions - SAK, expressed concern at the lack of flexibility and arrogance displayed by the employers in the negotiations. Ihalainen fears that the dispute over terms of service could continue for a long time.

Paperworkers' Union President Jouko Ahonen reported that he still hopes that a settlement will be reached with minimal damage to the national economy.Ahonen points out that the lockout announced by the employers is hardly a reasonable way to express gratitude for the fact that the Finnish pulp and paper industry achieved record production levels last year with the smallest ever workforce.

The Swedish pulp and paper industry union Pappers is supporting its Finnish sister union with an overtime ban at Stora Enso mills in Sweden, which is timed to coincide with the strike in Finland. If necessary, this overtime ban will be extended to cover the period from 25 May to 1 June and will apply not only to Stora Enso, but also to Metsä Tissue, M-real and Ahlström pulp and paper mills.