The paper workers’ union announced on Thursday that it would continue the ongoing strike at UPM’s paper mills until 14 May, as no agreement has been reached on wages and conditions since the last round of negotiations.
A proposal for a solution for UPM’s four business areas – pulp, specialty papers, labels and biofuels – was on the table, but no proposal was made for the fifth division, printing paper. The strike by this division has led to a nationwide shortage of newsprint.
The union’s board unanimously rejected the proposal on the grounds that it would have covered only half of the members’ employees. At the press conference, the union expressed its disappointment that it had to reject the whole settlement because of the distribution of printing paper.
UPM had accepted the full settlement and their labor market leader Jyrki Hollmén said the union’s decision was a complete surprise.
Hollmén told Yle that the union itself had agreed to move forward with a four – division settlement, as negotiations on the printing paper industry were suspended last Friday.
"With its uncompromising goals, UPM took a corner and did not want to retreat, despite a 104-day strike, zero-year turnover and material shortages," President of the Union of Paper Workers Petri Vanhala said.
Employees at UPM’s mills have been on strike since their collective agreement expired at the end of 2021. The union and UPM have not reached an agreement on a new agreement for paper industry employees, in which UPM is one of the largest manufacturers.
In addition to the measure affecting newsprint shortages raised questions the impact of the strike on food supply, as UPM manufactures a large proportion of labels used in the food industry worldwide.
The strike has affected approximately 2,000 employees in UPM’s 12 mills.