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15 September, 2008
The 24-hour strike planned for tomorrow by 4,000 Finnish paperworkers of UPM has the support of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), the leading trade union federation in the global pulp, paper, and paper-converting industries. Workers in Finland will shut some six UPM pulp and paper mills from 06h00 Tuesday, 16 September, to 06h00 Wednesday, 17 September.
Branch-level unions of the ICEM affiliate Paperiliitto have called the strike in protest to UPM’s decision to close two mills, the newsprint and graphic papers mill in Kajanni, and the kraft and printing papers Tervasaari Mill in Valkeakoski, by the end of 2008.
“Tomorrow’s demonstration by UPM workers across Finland is necessary in order to send the company a strong message that it must do far more to protect jobs in this vital Finnish industry,” said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. “We stand with our trade union affiliate Paperiliitto in demanding viable solutions, not continual job cuts, to fix the current economic crisis in the forestry sector.”
Some 1,600 community-sustaining jobs are at risk with the announced shutdowns of the Kajanni and Tervasaari Mills.
The topic of job losses in the forestry sectors of European, Nordic, and North American nations will be a central focus at the ICEM’s World Pulp and Paper Conference, scheduled for 8-10 December 2008 in Uruguay.
The 20-million-member ICEM is a Global Union Federation consisting of 467 trade unions in 132 countries.