TU contests UPM's
plans to close several mills and demands preparation of a from-work-to-work programme
TU (04.11.2009) The Union of Salaried Employees TU contests the basis of UPM's
announcement to close its productive facilities at three localities. If the decision goes
ahead, almost 900 salaried employees and workers from the veneer and lumber production
will lose their jobs. The union is keen to remind everyone that recently demand for and
deliveries of veneer and lumber have clearly been growing.
TU bases its judgement on, among other things, the latest quarterly report of UPM itself.
"UPM seems to be willing -when cutting its own personnel- to utilise the last chance
to refer to the recession. As far as the workforce is concerned it is a very cold-hearted
decision by a cold-blooded management", TU's President Antti Rinne says.
He urges the company to look at all possible avenues that would allow the Heinola, Lappeenranta
and Parkano mills to remain open. If the closures do go ahead, UPM must prepare a sizable
from-work-to-work programme to help those made redundant and the localities affected. UPM
has to commit itself to shouldering a significant proportion of the financing for this
programme in such an eventuality, Rinne insists.
"In Heinola and in Lappeenranta only the local authority administrations have been
-until now- larger employers than UPM."
The closure of productive facilities will hit both workers and salaried employees hard.
According to the TU, prospects for UPM's lumber and veneer production are far from being
in the unsustainable state as the company's management claims.
"Already one, two months ago our shop stewards told us that the recession is
bottoming out and that the recovery has begun. The shop stewards based their estimates on
field-level observations. Last week similar estimates were published by the Finnish Forest
Industry Federation and, in its quarterly report, by UPM itself."
Rinne wonders why UPM management refers to poor profitability of its production.
"Cost savings have already been achieved and overall efficacy has been improved. In
addition, the company itself has announced that the costs for the raw material wood it
uses has seen a steady decrease."
According to the TU, threats to close mills resulting in mass redundancies will not, in
any way, make the present collective bargaining, in the mechanical forest industry,
easier.
UPM estimates that the planned reorganisation in the lumber and veneer industry will cost
around EUR44m.
"The company promised on Tuesday to run an effective from-work-to-work programme if
the closure and redundancy plans are implemented as planned. However, beautiful promises
fail to win us over. UPM must make clear what share of these tens of millions of euros,
which are needed, it is ready to invest in support of employees who may lose their jobs
and in support of the Heinola, Lappeenranta and Parkano localities."
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