Paper workers strike in protest at planned closure

On 3 September 1997, around 170 blue-collar workers at the Nättraby paper mill went on strike for two hours in protest at the owners' plans to close down the factory. Representatives of the employer and the trade unions subsequently formed a working party with the task of finding new jobs.

When the workers at Nättraby paper mill in Blekinge in southern Sweden returned to work after their summer holidays in 1997, they were informed that the owner, the SCA group, planned to move part of the production to another factory in 1999 and would most likely shut down the rest of the production later on. In the long run, around 200 people would thus lose their jobs.

When the managing director of the group visited the factory on 3 September, all blue-collar workers took part in an unofficial strike for two hours in protest at these plans. According to the management, the paper mill is too small to be competitive with other larger companies. The workers, on the other hand, point out that the paper mill has always run at a profit, and claim that it should be offered for sale rather than shut down. The only reason for not doing so is that the employer does not want it to compete with the group's other mills, they argue.

SCA however, is sticking to its plans. Representatives of the company, the trade unions, the local authority and the county administrative board have formed a working party with the task of finding new jobs. SCA is also prepared to contribute financially to those workers who want to set up businesses of their own.