Labor Dispute at UPM Plywood Mills in Finland Continues as Union Rejects Latest Offer

The labor dispute between UPM Plywood in Finland and the Industrial Union remains unresolved, and the strike at UPM’s Finnish plywood mills will continue.

On Monday, Conciliator Jukka Ahtela presented a new settlement proposal. UPM Plywood said it accepted the proposal, but it was rejected by the Industrial Union. The settlement process will resume when the National Conciliator deems it appropriate.

UPM said the strike has brought production at its plywood mills in Finland to a standstill. These facilities employ around 1,000 workers covered by the collective agreement with the union. Operations at UPM Plywood’s Otepää mill in Estonia are unaffected and continue as normal.

In a statement, Juhani Tenhunen, Vice President, Operations at UPM Plywood, said:

“We are very disappointed that the conciliator’s new settlement proposal did not lead to a solution. Almost eight weeks of strikes on our mills are causing significant damage to our customers and have a long-term impact on our business and unfortunately also on the livelihood of employees participating the strikes.”