Pulp and paper mills around Finland started up again on Monday morning after a series of stoppages which began on Wednesday last week. The wildcat action was sparked by local disputes over the payment of wages.
The impromptu industrial action was to have concluded already on Friday, but workers at factories run by Stora Enso, M-Real, Metsä-Botnia and UPM, among others, decided to stay off the job through the weekend because of disputes that emerged in Imatra and Jyväskylä.
The Paperworkers’ Union has issued an official strike warning for the 15th of this month.
Mediation efforts continue today, Monday, at the office of National Conciliator Juhani Salonius in Helsinki.
The two sides appear to be very far apart in their demands.
The Finnish Forest Industries’ Federation opted out of the broad-based incomes agreement that was reached last autumn.
Disagreements between management and labour focus around the use of temporary labour at pulp and paper mills, and around company demands to eliminate the traditional Christmas and Midsummer holiday shutdowns of the factories.
