Finland's three biggest forest sector companies — UPM, Stora Enso and the Metsä Group — have announced plans to temporarily close some of their pulp or paper mills due to a two-week walkout by workers that began on Monday.
The political strikes reflect worker unions' continued opposition to the government's planned changes to labour market legislation.
A statement released by UPM on Monday revealed that the company planned to shut at least four factories while the political strike is ongoing, and may close more.
The firm further indicated that it does not plan to pay any wages to employees while the plants are closed, even though this includes members of the paperworkers' union — who are not on strike.
Metsä Group also announced on Monday that it will close its pulp mill in Lappeenranta, but still plans to continue paying wages for the time being.
On Tuesday, Stora Enso said its packaging board mill in Varkaus will cease operations from Wednesday, although the firm's sawmill and the veneer wood mill — also located in Varkaus — will continue to operate.
The company's Communications Director, Ingrid Peura, confirmed to Yle that wages will not be paid to employees affected by the closure, adding that the company has a unified policy in Finland regarding such situations.
"The policy is that at the point when work is prevented, the payment of wages is also suspended," Peura said.
Union: Case could "go to court"
Petri Vanhala, chair of the Paperworkers' Union, criticised the decision by employers to suspend wage payments due to the closures.
"In the past, when a strike, or another union's strike, or something else, has caused the mill to shut down, the company had an obligation to pay wages for seven days, but UPM has announced that this will not happen this time," Vanhala said, adding that the union will assess whether UPM's decision complies with Finnish labour legislation once the strike has ended.
He further noted that the union is likely to take the case to court.
"It will take longer [to resolve] if we go to court, but it will be made clear whether the company acted rightly or wrongly. Our interpretation is that it is acting wrongly," he said.
UPM's Labour Markets VP, Jyrki Hollmén, justified the company's decision in a text message to Yle on Monday evening, noting that the political strikes aim to influence legislative changes concerning the working conditions of employees, as defined by Finland's Employment Contracts Act.
"In this case, the employer is not obliged to pay wages to employees who are out of work due to strikes," Hollmén wrote.
In this FAQ, Yle News answers some of the questions surrounding the widespread strikes that started in Finland on Monday.
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