Assi Domän workers go sick after announcement of job losses
Published: 27 February 1999
In February 1999, a number of workers at Assi Domän Kraftliner, a forestry products company in the northern city of Pite, reported sick after the employer announced that 110 workers out of a total workforce of 630 were to be made redundant. There was a hold-up of one week before production of pulp resumed on 22 February. The workers on sick leave claimed that they were suffering from illness and handed in doctor's certificates when requested to by the employer. The principal safety representative assured the employer that the sick leave rules had not been abused and that the staffing of shifts was so tight that the loss of only two workers on a shift team was enough to halt production. In total, 84 workers, including those who were already absent on sick leave, reported sick in the week in question.
On 22 February 1999, the production of pulp at Assi Domän Kraftliner in the northern Swedish city of Piteå resumed after a hold-up of one week. A number of workers had taken sick leave after the employer announced that 110 workers out of a total workforce of 630 were to be made redundant.
In February 1999, a number of workers at Assi Domän Kraftliner, a forestry products company in the northern city of Pite, reported sick after the employer announced that 110 workers out of a total workforce of 630 were to be made redundant. There was a hold-up of one week before production of pulp resumed on 22 February. The workers on sick leave claimed that they were suffering from illness and handed in doctor's certificates when requested to by the employer. The principal safety representative assured the employer that the sick leave rules had not been abused and that the staffing of shifts was so tight that the loss of only two workers on a shift team was enough to halt production. In total, 84 workers, including those who were already absent on sick leave, reported sick in the week in question.
Most workers at Assi Domän Kraftliner are organised by the Swedish Paper Workers' Union (Svenska Pappersindustriarbetareförbundet, Pappers). The local union and the employer have resumed local negotiations about the future workforce levels at the enterprise. The employer is unwilling to negotiate on the 110 redundancies but has offered early retirement to workers who were born before 1942, while the redundancies will now be spread over three years.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Assi Domän workers go sick after announcement of job losses, article.
