The strike in Finland’s paper industry has been extended. The Finnish paper mills of leading forest groups such as UPM and Stora Enso have been standing still. There is still no progress in negotiations between Finland’s paper industry trade union Paperiliitto and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) about new collective bargaining agreements. Source: Euwid, Timberbiz
The trade union announced that the ongoing strike, which started on 27 January, will be extended at least until 24 February. Originally, the strike was set to last two weeks from 27 January to 10 February.
The strike affects the Finnish mills of FFIF’s member companies. FFIF says it represents Finland’s entire paper industry and 65% of the country’s forestry industry. According to the association, forest industry products account for about a fifth of Finland’s exports.
These strikes could affect the profits in all FFIF companies. According to Stora Enso, the actions will have a negative impact on company’s operations and results in the first quarter of 2020.
The company anticipates the effects of the strike on the bottom line to be €11m per week, which in the case of “a worst case scenario” will translate into a total of €33m for the three-week strike, Stora Enso management explained at the presentation of fourth quarter and full year 2019 financial results.
