A mixed picture is emerging from the ongoing arbitration process aimed at resolving the long-standing strike action at UPM’s finish mills.
The strike over the weekend reached an unprecedented 100 days.
On Saturday (9 April), the UPM announced that the reconciliation process between the Paperworkers’ Union and the UPM Communication Papers had stalled “because the parties’ views still differ”.
However, talks are on on UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers and UPM Biofuels.
“Unlike before, the paperworkers union is now ready to finalize non-simultaneous agreements for the various businesses of UPM,” UPM said.
The group said this means that UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Raflatec and UPM Biofuels “may be ready to find solutions at the same time as UPM Pulp”.
UPM Pulp is expected to respond to a settlement proposal on the table for that business later this week. Deadline is April 14.
Union Paperlito said: “The Paper Association will continue to negotiate collective agreements on the basis of arbitration. The Board of the Paper Association will meet on 13 April to make its decisions based on the current situation.
UPM said no meeting is currently scheduled with the union and the Communication Papers business.
UPM’s Communication Papers division had sales of just under €3.58bn (£3bn) last year and was UPM’s largest business unit but also the only division to make a loss, and was in the red for €79m at EBIT level. was in ,
The strike is affecting UPM’s Finnish pulp and paper mills, and is scheduled to last until April 30, based on the most recent extension.
The mills involved are:
- UPM Jämsänkoski (Graphic paper including uncoated magazine paper and specialty paper)
- UPM Kymi (Finese and Fine including WFC and WFU Graphic Paper)
- UPM Caucus (LWC Graphic Paper with Ultra and Star)
- UPM Rouma (LWC Magazine Papers)
- UPM Tervasaari (Specialty Release Liner Base Papers)
- UPM Raflatac Tampere (Label)
