Starting today, Monday December 9th, 100,000 industry workers in Finland will go into strike for at least three days. During these days, at most logistics businesses will load goods – productions will stand still entirely, as Finnish media and exports insiders inform. Riku Aalto, union leader, posted on Twitter: "The mediation has come to an end. No new date has been set for further negotiations. Therefore, strikes and sawmill lockouts will commences."
The discrepancies between employers and employees do not only concern automatic wage adjustments but also the increase of working time. Negotiations are held in the background to keep the strike as short as possible. Concerned is not only the wood industry but virtually all industry sectors in Finland.
Particularly rigorous, however, is the situation in the wood industries (sawmills, plywood and laminated timber producers). Their response is a six-day lockout starting on December 12. The productions will remain closed and no wages will be paid.
This means that sawmills will be standing still for at least nine days. Up to 50% der of Finnish sawmills could be affected. In a year that has been difficult for sawmills there to begin with, this would result in a drastic underproduction. According to the EOS, Finland is planning to produce 12 million m³ which is about 60,000 m3 per day. Nine days of standstill would equal a loss of 500,000 m3.
Exporters have started to inform customers of shortages in December and January.
