Toimihenkilöunioni (TU), the Finnish union of white-collar staff, has threatened rolling strikes across the Finnish paper industry over a dispute relating to pay talks.

The strike was stopped on Monday (June 16) following TU’s approval of the National Conciliator’s proposal for the new collective agreement for staff.

TU president Antti Rinne said: “We almost achieved the level of pay rises we pursued. It will close the gap between the pay development of salaried employees and workers.”

According to the agreement, salaries will be raised by 5.3% which will equate to a pay rise of at least €60 ($AU98.5) per month, or at least an increase of 2.7 per cent.

The agreement, which is in force from June 16, 2008 to March 31, 2010, can be terminated on October 15, 2009.

If the conciliation had failed, the strike would have begun on Monday for white-collar staff at all of Stora Enso’s Finnish manufacturing plants.

TU has said it would also spread the strike action to paper companies UPM, M-real, Myllykoski and Metsä-Botnia.

The union said it believes the pay gap between its members and those of Paperiliitto, the union that represents blue-collar workers, is widening.

Read the original article at www.printweek.com.

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