Conciliator submits proposal to resolve UPM strike

Mediator from the National Conciliator's Office Leo Suomaa has submitted a settlement proposal to five businesses in collective bargaining between forest-based industry company UPM's businesses and the Paperworkers’ Union to resolve the ongoing long-running strike.

The conciliator has asked the parties to state their position on the proposals on Friday, said the UPM in a press release on Thursday.

The proposals are to be approved or rejected as a whole.

The conciliator now submitted a proposal also for UPM Communication Papers in addition to UPM Pulp, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Raflatac and UPM Biofuels.

”I hope that the conciliation proposals now given will lead to agreements and we get to start the mills. Prolonging the strike further would not be in anyone's interest,” said Riitta Savonlahti, Executive Vice President, Human Resources at UPM.

Earlier on 14 April, the Finnish Paperworkers’ Union further extended the ongoing strike at the UPM mills by two more weeks until 14 May. The strike started on 1 January.