Paper industry withdraws from centralised incomes talks

Announcement raises tensions on labour market

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Just when the end of the transport strike had led to the resumption of talks among the main labour market confederations, the effort to reach a centralised incomes agreement was dealt another blow when the Finnish Forest Industries Federation announced on Monday that it would not join the broader incomes talks.
      "We were originally told that questions of productivity, which are important to us, are part of the incomes negotiation process. Now it is apparent that the issues that are central to us cannot be resolved at that table", explained Arto Tähtinen, the federation’s head of labour market affairs.
      The management side wants to keep the paper factories running on the Christmas and Midsummer holidays - days when they are now shut down to give workers days off.
      The industry also wants freedom to outsource jobs such as maintenance, transport, and cleaning - activities which currently fall under the Paperworkers’ Union labour contract.
     
Tähtinen says that costs need to be cut because of the poor trends in productivity.
      "Getting rid of shutdown days and increased subcontracting are certainly issues of such magnitude that it would be possible to get by for a few years by implementing them", he said.
      "Personnel has been reduced to nearly half the previous level, and new machinery has been installed. Growth in 2004 - 2008 is expected to be at around six percent", responded Markku Palokangas, of the Union of Salaried Employees (TU), responsible for negotiations in the forest industry.
     
The announcement did not come as a complete surprise; the forest industry has indicated dissatisfaction with the idea of a centralised agreement for most of the year.
      However, the union side is asking why the industry made the decision at such an early stage in the bargaining process.
      The Paperworkers’ Union says that it is willing to keep the factories running during Christmas and Midsummer, as long as the price tag is high enough. Paperworkers’ Union chairman Jouko Ahonen said that it has been possible to hold sensible discussions on outsourcing on the local level.
      Ahonen appealed to other unions to stick to the current negotiations.
      He also said that the Paperworkers’ Union wants to maintain industrial peace.
      "But if management attacks so aggressively, it may be that at some stage we are left with no other option than to resort to self-defence", he said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Expanded bus strike leads to suspension of incomes talks (17.11.2004)
  Incomes talks begin - Prime Minister Vanhanen pleased (3.11.2004)
  Broad-based incomes talks to begin - situation seen as difficult (28.10.2004)

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