Agreement reached over UPM strike

On 22 April, the Paper Association announced to mediator Leo Suomaa that it would unanimously approve the settlement proposals for all five of UPM's business operations as new company-specific collective agreements.

UPM's businesses also accepted the settlement, the union said.

The new agreements are valid for four years until 21 April 2026. 

The union said that wage increases "follow the general line in the industry with the 2 + 2 years model, meaning, wage increases will be renegotiated after two years".

The union stated: "The main goal of the Paper Association in the negotiations was to keep the working conditions in the industry consistent in the current model of company-specific agreements. With 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, meaning, the number of hours worked, did not materialise."

The strike action at UPM's Finnish pulp and paper mills began on 1 January and has run for more than 110 days. 

(PrintWeek.com)