TU contests UPM's plans to close several mills and demands preparation of a from-work-to-work programme
[04.11.2009]
"All quarters believe in recovery of the veneer and lumber industry"
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.
Viimeksi muokattu: 04.11.2009
[Kerro kaverille]
