Finnish port strike hits paper workers

Finnish forestry group UPM-Kymmene yesterday stopped paying wages to workers at a paper mill closed since last week because of a port strike that has crippled Finland’s foreign trade.
“The payment of salaries is interrupted today, Thursday ... this is the first day of no wages,” UPM spokeswoman Kaisu Lehtomaa told AFP yesterday, adding that about 450 workers at a factory in Rauma were affected so far.
All of Finland’s commercial ports ground to a virtual halt last week when some 3,000 dockers walked out following the collapse of pay negotiations.
The Transport Workers Union (AKT) and the Finnish Port Operators Association resumed talks under the mediation of national conciliator Esa Lonka on Tuesday, but have yet to find agreement. More talks were to be held yesterday.
AKT also called a demonstration in Helsinki in support of the strikers.
The port closures are a blow to recession-hit Finland, whose economy last year saw its biggest annual fall since 1918 as the global economic downturn dampened demand for key exports like paper and mobile phones.
Some 80 percent of the Nordic country’s foreign trade travels through its ports, and the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) says the strike threatens Finland’s reputation as a reliable partner.
UPM was the first major industry player to report damage, announcing the temporary closure of the magazine paper mill in Rauma last Thursday as it ran out of storage capacity for products normally sent directly to the port.
Rival paper maker Stora Enso closed a book paper production line Wednesday and a fine paper line yesterday, temporarily laying off some 200 workers, a spokeswoman told AFP, adding the company had already refused some orders from clients as it could not guarantee delivery.
“It is clear that this [strike] has already left a permanent mark on the reputation of Finland’s paper industry,” Stora Enso spokeswoman Paeivi Kauhanen said.