December 3, 2010:

Senior salaried employees in the paper industry down tools

Efforts by the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN) and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation to settle an industrial dispute involving senior salaried employees in the paper industry reached an impasse on 2 December, and these employees began a ten-day strike at 06.01 on Friday 3 December. This industrial action will end at the same time on Monday 13 December.

The strike affects some 3,000 senior salaried employees in the paper industry. The main point of dispute is uncompensated time off spent on duties of work.

Previous recent industrial action in the sector has included a walkout and a four-day strike.

October 28, 2010:

Arbitration ends without a result – professional and managerial staff in the paper industry to strike

Arbitration in the labour dispute between the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN) and the Finnish Forest Industries relating to senior salaried employees failed to reach an agreement.

Senior salaried employees in the paper industry will go on strike at 06.01 am on Friday 29th October. The strike will end at 06.01 am on Tuesday 2nd November.

October 8, 2010:

YTN issues strike warning in Finnish paper industry

Walkout of senior salaried employees planned for 22 October and strike action from 29 October to 2 November 2010

The Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN) today (7 October 2010) issued a formal warning of industrial action in the Finnish paper industry.

At the first stage of this action senior salaried employees in the industry will down tools at noon on Friday 22 October in a one-day demonstration.

This will be followed by a full-scale strike that is due to begin at 6.01 a.m. on Friday 29 October and end at the same time on Tuesday 2 November.

Unless headed off by a late settlement, the stoppages will affect all companies affiliated to the Finnish Forest Industries Federation that fall within the scope of the dispute, together with their associated paper industry workplaces and establishments throughout Finland.

The Board of YTN took the decision to issue a strike warning at a meeting held on 6 October after negotiations with the Finnish Forest Industries Federation had stalled. About 3,000 senior salaried employees belonging to YTN-affiliated trade unions have not been covered by any collective agreement in the paper industry since autumn 2009. The main obstacle to a new agreement concerns collective bargaining on the possibility of concluding local working time bank agreements.

Working time irregularities are one of the main shortcomings in the terms and conditions of employment of senior salaried employees working in the forest industry, with employers most often failing to pay compensation for overtime and work-related travel during time off. The unions are also calling for salary increases that at least match the general policy for the industry.

A ban imposed by YTN on 1 September prohibiting overtime and work-related travel during time off by senior salaried employees in the paper industry will also continue.

For further details please contact Saku Laapio, responsible agent for forest industry affairs, YTN, tel. 040 049 7282.

1 September 2010:

Overtime and travel ban begins for senior salaried employees in the pulp and paper industry

The Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN) has declared a ban on overtime and work-related travel during time off by senior salaried employees in the pulp and paper industry as of 06.00 on 1 September 2010.

About 3,000 senior salaried employees belonging to YTN-affiliated trade unions have not been covered by any collective agreement since autumn 2009. The main obstacle to a new agreement concerns collective bargaining on the possibility of concluding local working time bank agreements.

Working time irregularities are one of the main shortcomings in the terms and conditions of employment of senior salaried employees working in the forest industry, with employers most often failing to pay compensation for overtime and work-related travel during time off. A working time bank would offer a flexible and modern solution to this problem.

YTN is proposing that the possibility of introducing a working time bank should be stipulated in a nationally binding collective agreement, as required under the Hours of Work Act. This law prohibits any agreement on working time accruals of more than 40 hours made locally or individually, for example in a contract of employment. Instead, such arrangements must be agreed collectively.

YTN is proposing that a working time bank could be realised in a manner individually customised to the needs of the enterprise. In addition to flexible elements, deposits in a working time bank could include such items as overtime, distance working time, travelling time, working time reduction leave and annual holidays in the manner locally agreed. The working time bank could also be used by agreement in lieu of layoffs.

YTN is also seeking the compensation for pulp and paper industry shop stewards that is customary in the labour market. This compensation should be eligible for general increases that at least match the general policy for the industry.

The ban on overtime and work-related travel during time off began at 06.00 on 1 September 2010 and will continue until further notice. This means that there will be no overtime, flexible working time extensions (only 7.5-8 hours of work per day) or work-related travelling during time off during the ban. The scope of the ban includes all senior salaried employees working in pulp and paper mills, head offices, forestry departments, maintenance and other areas. The ban does not apply to senior salaried employees working in the mechanical forest industry or the furniture and joinery industry.

For further details please contact:

Saku Laapio, responsible agent for forest industry affairs, YTN, telephone +358 40 049 7282

See the website at www.ytnmetsa.fi for further details of the campaign for working time banks in the pulp and paper industry.