Strikes start at UPM mills in Finland

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UPM Plywood, UPM Timber and UPM Energy are not affected.

On 1 January, members of the Paperworkers' Union, the Finnish Electrical Workers´ Union and the Trade Union Pro started strikes at UPM mills in Jämsänkoski, Kouvola, Lappeenranta, Pietarsaari, Rauma, Tampere and Valkeakoski. The unions announced that the strikes will continue until 6 am on 22 January 2022 unless a new collective labour agreement is reached before that. UPM says that the Paperworkers’ Union has not excluded any work from the strike, not even tasks critical to the society, such as operating and maintenance of water treatment and power plants.

UPM businesses falling under the strikes are UPM Pulp, UPM Biofuels, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Specialty Papers and UPM Raflatac. The strikes do not concern UPM Plywood and UPM Timber, both of which signed business specific collective agreements with the Industrial Union in December. Furthermore, UPM Energy operates as usual, as it complies with the generally applied collective agreements of the energy industry.

UPM says that since last spring it has tried to initiate negotiations with the Paperworkers’ Union with no response. As there has not been opportunities to discuss terms of employment, UPM businesses announced temporary terms of labour to the members of the union in November. These terms are in effect until a new agreement will be reached.

UPM businesses under the strike will pay additional fixed-term compensation to those who come to work at mills and do extra work because of the strike. Together, the regular salaries and the fixed-term compensation exceed the salary level of the expired collective agreement.

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