Paperworkers' Union online message board shut down until Monday
Website closed for updating purposes, Union claims
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The online message board used by members of the Paperworkers' Union was shut down on Tuesday. Helsingin Sanomat reported the same day that some messages published on the website contained name-calling and threats targeted at the Union's shop stewards and at a Helsingin Sanomat reporter.
Insults towards the journalist were sparked by a recent report regarding the labour dispute between the Paperworkers' Union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.
The online discussion forum will be reopened on Monday. According to the Paperworkers' Union President Jouko Ahonen, the message board was shut down for updating purposes, as some 30,000 messages had accumulated there.
"This exceptional situation has overloaded the website too much."
According to Ahonen, new messages are read through on weekdays. "Weekends are more problematic. By Sunday evenings all kinds of messages may have ended up there. The most vulgar comments are usually written in the small hours and under the influence."
Despite the use of pseudonyms, only registered users can access the site, which means writers of every single comment can be traced, Ahonen explains.
"Normally we have had to resort to cautioning, when our shop stewards have been criticised. For those shooting from behind a pseudonym, we are the only fair game", Ahonen says referring to himself and Arto Tähtinen, head of labour market affairs at the Forest Industries Federation.
"An individual journalist definitely does not belong to this category", Ahonen emphasises.
"The problem with this type of general discussion forums is that although 99 percent of people know how to behave, one percent will misuse it and spoil it for everybody", Ahonen commented.
"Their behaviour is not acceptable, but something to be ashamed of."
The mugging of a Helsingin Sanomat journalist also recently made headlines. The suspected motive for the assault was the daily's news article about the long labour dispute.
Following the incident, the Paperworkers' Union refused to issue any immediate comments.
"I categorically disapprove of violence in any shape or form", Ahonen says. "But we cannot stand guard over 48,000 paper workers."
The strikes and lockout which have kept machinery at Finland's paper factories shut down for nearly six weeks could be over today, Thursday, if the Paperworkers' Union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation give their approval to a mediation proposal put forward on Tuesday evening by National Conciliator Juhani Salonius.
The union and the management side are to give their answers by 3:00 PM.
Should both sides accept the proposal, Finland's paper and pulp mills would start up again on Monday after the weekend's midsummer festivities.
We shall be updating our edition with the results of the deliberations by both sides.
More on this subject:
 Thursday 16:00 - Paper workers reject mediation offer
Previously in HS International Edition:
New mediation proposal in paper industry dispute - response expected Thursday (22.6.2005)
Helsingin Sanomat
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