The salaried employees' union Proliitto (Pro) has continued its labour conflict and, after an initial two-week strike which affected numerous UPM facilities in Finland, has spread the wave of protest to other companies in the Finnish pulp and paper industry. On 26 April, about 1,500 Pro members went out on strike for two weeks at Stora Enso and Metsäliitto Group. The strikers are expected to go back to work on 11 May, however, another strike has already been announced for 19 May and is to last into June. A new wave of strikes is meanwhile heading for UPM. Pro announced at the end of April that it will be going out on a two-week strike at UPM with approximately 1,000 members again. This time roughly 100 Pro members employed by Sappi Kirkniemi are to join forces with their union colleagues at UPM and will lay down their tools from 12 to 26 May.
