Stora Enso cutbacks spark strong backlash

Government criticised, union examines strike option

Jyri Häkämies

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The most recent announcement of plant closures and job cuts by the pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso has raised a storm of criticism against the Finnish government, and especially Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party), who is also responsible for matters related to companies in which the state has a holding.
      The state has a 12 per cent holding in Stora Enso, through the state’s own investment company Solidium.
      “This is not a surprise. There has been criticism from the labour union movement and the political left for two years”, Häkämies said to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.
      He reiterated the view that nothing that the government might have done could have prevented the crisis in the forest industry, and the overall difficulties in the economy.
      “For all of those who have made critical statements, it is certainly quite clear that the market has gone down in the forest industry, and costs have risen”, Häkämies said.
     
According to the minister, the unions are “late in a way” because they had not seen the direction where the forest industry was going in previous pay deals. “Competitiveness has not been taken into consideration.”
      Häkämies rejected the assessment by the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance, according to which the minister did not have the time or willingness to deal with the state corporate ownership aspect of his job.
      “I deny this, even though I will not start evaluating my own activities in other respects”, he said.
      He restated his view that the management of Stora Enso makes its decisions on cutbacks independently, and that he will not interfere with such decisions.
      “Naturally I constantly talk to representatives of the forest industry about the future of the sector, but in decisions like this, the power is with the company”, he said.
     
The plight of the forest industry will certainly be a topic in the government’s budget talks next week. More efforts to promote measures linked with structural change and the creation of new jobs will be considered. “Certainly financing will be increased”, Häkämies said.
      He saw good examples in the early part of the week at the summer meeting of ministers of the National Coalition Party in Kajaani, a city where new jobs have been created to replace those lost in the forest industry.
      “People have not just been lying down as the fire burns. Efforts need to be made to create new jobs in Stora Enso communities as well”, Häkämies said.
     
Reacting to the news of a shutdown of more plants by Stora Enso, Paperworkers’ Union chairman Jouko Ahonen said that the union’s delegate council and executive will discuss the possibility of a protest strike when they hold a joint meeting on Thursday.
      At a press conference held on Wednesday afternoon, Ahonen said that radical measures were called for, and that a possible strike would be extensive.
     
Ahonen accused the management of Stora Enso and the government of shifting blame on each other.
      Ahonen said that the government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, should call a time-out and take a look at the overall situation.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Stora Enso to close more mills in Finland (19.8.2009)

Links:
  Press release: 19 August 2009 Stora Enso continues the change

Helsingin Sanomat