Contract period is two years

UPM and paper union reach accord

Communication Papers wing also has a new interim boss

New collective labour agreements have been agreed between UPM and the Finnish Paper Workers’ Union.

The agreements encompass UPM Pulp, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Raflatac, UPM Biofuels and UPM Specialty Papers.

UPM said the new collective labour agreements will have a two-year contract period and come into force immediately.

Wage increases as part of the collective agreements will take effect from 1 July.

Riitta Savonlahti, executive vice president for HR at UPM, commented:"We are pleased that, after long and thorough negotiations, we have reached five agreements where we have jointly developed the content of the agreements to meet the needs of each business.”

UPM has also announced that Mika Kekki will become the new interim executive VP for the Communication Papers business from 1 August.

A recruitment process to replace current interim boss Antti Jääskeläinen is underway. He will leave UPM at the end of July to take up a new role outside the group.

UPM employs around 16,600 people worldwide and has annual sales of circa €10.5bn (£8.8m).

Separately, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has voiced concerns over new actions by the Orpo-Purra government. Statutes restricting the right to strike were approved by Finnish Parliament on 8 May 2024.

In April, SAK paused wide-ranging strike action that impacted the country’s ports and freight network.