UPM settles Finnish paper industry’s longest strike with collective worker agreements
25 Apr 2022 --- Finnish forest industry company UPM has settled a dispute with its paper mill employees over worker’s rights, ending what is said to be the longest strike in the history of the country’s paper industry. The shutdown has gone on for 112 days and already caused untold damage to critical supply chains.
On Friday, the Paper Association union agreed to unanimously approve UPM’s settlement proposals, notably new company-specific collective agreements.
The strike erupted after UPM announced its intention to break the business into five segments (pulp, graphic papers, specialty papers, labels, biofuels), which the workers feared would diminish their bargaining power and weaken working conditions.
As a result, production of labeling for F&B and pharmaceutical products was brought to a halt, and knock-on disruptions spread fears that lead times for essential material supplies would continue mounting.
The managing director of the European association for the self-adhesive label and narrow web packaging industry (FINAT) warned that the strike, combined with COVID-19 disruptions and inflating prices, could cause a “perfect storm” for the labeling industry.
Settlement agreement
Petri Vanhala, president of the Paper Association, which struggled to reach an agreement with UPM on behalf of the union, lauded the settlement as a victory.
Labeling production has been decimated by the strike.“The paper union is relieved that the union can continue intact and strong despite the long strike. The cornerstones of the collective bargaining agreements did not break, even though UPM’s targets were tough. The ranks of the members remained tight,” he says.
“We also thank all the other trade unions that have supported us and the unions for their background support and financial support to the Confederation of Finnish Industry.”
The main goal of the Paper Association in the negotiations was to keep the working conditions in industry consistent with the current model of company-specific agreements.
For UPM, this goal was the most difficult to achieve. The essential result is that the extensive impairments required by the employer, such as the increase in working time without compensation, in other words the number of hours worked, did not materialize.
“The labor struggle did not only affect UPM’s paper alliance members but more broadly the trade union movement: the paper allies defended the right to bargain in an organized strike,” adds Vanhala.
UPM sees the positives
Despite these concessions, UPM is also hailing the settlement as a victory.
“In the negotiations, many aspects of the contracts were viewed from a new standpoint,” says Jyrki Hollmén, vice president of labor markets at UPM.
“The process was long, but, in the end, we were able to agree on terms of employment that take the needs and special features of our businesses into account. New terms enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the businesses and mills and ensure good terms for employees, too.”
By Louis Gore-Langton
