Pulp and paper mills began to start up again on Wednesday after a two-day protest strike by factory workers in the industry. Production is expected to get nearly back to normal today, Wednesday, even though office workers in the industry began their own one-day stoppage in the morning.
Shop Steward Jukka Santala of the UPM mill in Valkeakoski said early Wednesday morning that the strike by the office workers will slow down the start-up process. He does not expect all paper machines to be fully operational today, now that supervisors are of the job. He estimates that about 100 white-collar employees will heed the strike call in Valkeakoski.
Eero Kuokkanen, head of the UPM plant at Valkeakoski, expects all paper machines to be operating by the evening. He also says that pulp production should be back to normal slightly later.
The strike was called by the Paperworkers' Union last Friday, when UPM announced the results of discussions on job cuts held with its personnel. The decision invovles extensive job cuts.
The stoppage extended to all paper mills except the UPM plant in Voikkaa and the Pankakoski unit of Stora Enso. Both plants are unaffected by today's strike as well.
