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10 July, 2006
Sappi paperworkers at a Belgian mill staged a 24-hour strike on 5-6 July in protest of the South African company’s restructuring plan. The paper mill’s 700 workers seek to persuade the company not to cut 123 jobs from the pulp and coated papers mill.
Management at the Lanaken mill claims the restructuring is merely a costs-savings measure, while the unions see it as mass redundancies and forced dismissals. The unions will use social dialogue to argue that cost-cutting should not go beyond not replacing those who retire combined with a tightening on the number of fixed-term contract workers that Sappi utilises.
Preliminary talks between the unions and management will occur on 18 July, with social dialogue on the restructuring plan to take place in September.