Swedish paper workers industrial actions are expanding


16/04/2010

Following our web news release of April 13th, some new developments have
emerged on the industrial action front in Sweden. 

As the Swedish Paper Workers did not accept the latest proposal of the
agreement, the threat of stoppage by six Swedish pulp and paper mills'
materialised at 06.00 today due to the paper workers' strike. Furthermore, all
Swedish pulp and paper mills continue to be affected by the overtime ban. 

On April 15, the Paper Workers Union announced that further actions will be
taken on 26 April when an additional six Swedish mills will stop production. 

Should the threat materialise, the availability of pulp will worsen and thus
challenge the continuity of the deliveries of pulp-based products, in
particular, from early May onwards. While we expect this mainly affect consumer
product offerings in Sweden, there is the possibly that other Scandinavian
countries will also be affected. Together with the external challenges
experienced over the past months related to pulp availability, these industrial
actions are having a clear disruptive impact on our operations. 

Metsä Tissue continues to do its utmost to minimise any possible disruption
caused by the strike. We are following the situation carefully and will keep
all key stakeholders informed of any developments through ordinary business
channels. 

For customer enquiries, please consult your personal sales contact at Metsä
Tissue. 

For general strike-related questions:

Juhana Kalpio, SVP, Supply Chain
Tel: +358 1046 54184
E-mail: juhana.kalpio[at]metsatissue.com

Patrik Karlsson. Vice President, Supply Chain Scandinavia
Tel: +46 501 27 50 27
E-mail:  patrik.karlsson[at]metsatissue.com