Holmen's Iggesund workers vote for strike action over closure of paperboard machine at mill in Workington, England, and over proposed layoffs of 99 workers

Dec 7, 2009 — Forestweb

LOS ANGELES, December 7, 2009 (Forestweb) — Union members at Iggesund Paperboard Ltd.'s mill in Workington, England, voted 266 to 30 in favour of strike action at the paperboard mill, PrintWeek reported Dec. 7.

The vote by Unite members was is in response to 99 proposed job cuts at the 484-worker mill, the company's selection criteria for layoffs, and what members claim are inferior severance payments.

The Iggesund mill announced in October last year that it would lay off employees as part of plans to close one of the company's two board machines at the multi-layered folding boxboard mill, PrintWeek reported.

The Times & Star reported Nov. 6 that Iggesund blamed a weak market when it announced in late September it would eliminate the jobs when it shuts down a paperboard machines at the end of December, Forestweb reported the same day.

Peter Ellis, Unite national officer, said the union was looking forward to constructive discussions at a mill conference Dec. 11, reported Print Week.

The union claimed that company bosses refused to follow dispute procedures and that negotiations over the planned redundancies have failed.

Michael Hunter, Iggesund Paperboard human resources manager at the Workington mill, said the company had already planned a meeting with Unite representatives, in line with recognised dispute resolution procedures, PrintWeek reported.

Iggesund Paperboard, based in Iggesund, Sweden, is a member of the Stockhold-based Holmen Group and manufactures high-quality virgin fiber paperboard for the packaging and graphics sectors.

According to the company’s Web site, Iggesund has capacity to produce 260,000 tonnes per year of Incada, a multi-layered folding boxboard.

The primary source of this article is Print Week, London, England, on Dec. 7, 2009.

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