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28 July, 2005
In accepting the mediated proposal, Paperiliitto directed especially strong language at one global, Finnish-based paper company, UPM Kymmene: settle the seven-month Canadian paper strike in Miramichi, New Brunswick, with Local 689 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union.
Calling it a “distinguished spot of shame for the Finnish forest industry,” Paperiliitto’s Delegate Council demanded that UPM Kymmene “implement negotiations on an equal basis for a fair and quick solution” in Miramichi. “It is necessary to take into account the local bargaining praxis, the needs of the small local society and the feelings of workers,” the Finnish union’s settlement statement said on the strike in Canada. In New Brunswick, bargaining with a provincial mediator broke off 28 June without any progress, but resumed again last week. The 800 members of CEP Local 689 are striking for the pattern paper-mill agreement in eastern Canada, and they seek also to preserve a host of local mill terms and conditions.