Labor market Paper Association rejects UPM strike settlement strike – strike continuing until mid-May

Paper union The government decided Thursday that the mediator Leo to Finland UPM’s industrial dispute will be rejected and the strike will continue until 14 May, unless a settlement is reached before then.

UPM is disappointed with the Paper Association’s rejection decision and would have accepted the settlement proposals.

The conciliator had asked for answers to his four conciliation proposals by ten o’clock on Thursday morning.

The board of the Paper Association stated that it could not accept the settlement proposals because their coverage was insufficient.

The settlement proposals for Pulp, Specialty Papers, Raflatac and Biofuels cover only half of UPM’s paper allies.

On the other hand, there would have been no agreement. The decision to reject was unanimous.

According to the press release, the Paper Association was disappointed that it had to reject four settlement proposals due to Communication Papers’ defiance.

Defiance According to the association, UPM ‘s management did not respond in any way to an open letter in which UPM’ s chief shop stewards appealed to UPM ‘s management on Wednesday to try again with Communication Papers, the printing paper unit.

As no company-specific terms of employment have been agreed for UPM’s business, the Board of Directors of the Paper Association also decided to extend the strike for a period of two weeks, until 14 May, if the outcome of the negotiations is not achieved before then.

A strike or its continuation must always be notified two weeks before it begins. The previously announced end date of the strike was April 30th.

A strike of about 2,000 Paper Union employees has been going on in 12 UPM units since the beginning of the year.

A couple of hundred members of the Paper Association carry out conservation work in the mills’ heat production and water treatment in accordance with the decision of the Helsinki District Court on 21 January.

This On Tuesday of the week, the mediator, Finland, said that it had also given up a fourth UPM unit, ie biorefinery conciliation proposal.

Issued the previous day, Monday conciliation proposals concerned the specialty papers and labels business. Already in March, a settlement proposal was reached for the pulp business.

Last week, the Office of the National Mediator said mediation on printing papers had been suspended because the parties’ positions, despite their convergence, are still quite far apart.

On Wednesday, the paper union’s trustees appealed to UPM’s management to find a solution for the company’s printing paper business as well.

Alun Originally, the Paper Association has sought one company-specific agreement and UPM business-specific. There has been a dispute especially about working hours and wages.

In the press release of the Paper Association, the chairman Petri Vanhala says that UPM has pushed itself into a corner because of its drastic targets and does not seem to be retreating, “although the strike has lasted 104 days, the results for the first half of the year will remain zero and customers will suffer from material shortages”.

According to Vanhala, the Paper Association does not aim for better working conditions than the expired collective agreement in the paper industry, and the goal of raising wages is in line with the general line.

“Compared to other forest companies, UPM’s reluctance to enter into an agreement has resulted in the company’s employees being subjected to a completely unreasonable principled chase by the employer,” says Vanhala.

Also UPM says in a press release it is disappointed.

“We are very disappointed with the decision of the Paper Association and the fact that the strike, which has lasted for three and a half months, is continuing. We have negotiated for real purpose and made a number of compromises. For our part, we have accepted the settlement proposals, ”says UPM’s Vice President, Labor Market Jyrki Hollmén in the company bulletin.

According to Hollmén, renewing a decades-old contract is important for both employees and the company.

“Is it was a great disappointment that after close negotiations, no business was able to finish. The chairman of the Paper Association, Petri Vanhala, confirmed in the conciliations of all businesses that each business can be agreed separately, ”says Hollmén.

According to Hollmén, conciliation proposals were found for the four businesses together, taking into account the needs and wishes of both parties.

“The settlement proposals were approved in good faith to restore peace of mind to the businesses. Now that the Paper Association has rejected the performances that have already been built, the businesses are leaving the table, ”Hollmén explains in the press release.