Mar 10, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. The Finnish paper workers' union hopes to reach a deal with employers later this spring although disagreements remain strong, mainly over scrapping holiday plant shutdowns, the union's head said on Tuesday, reported Reuters News. "We believe the agreement will be reached, probably not in a few weeks' time, but during this spring anyway," Jouko Ahonen told a news conference. In November, paper sector bosses walked out of nationwide pay talks that cover all the country's industries, saying that productivity would not improve under the comprehensive deal. A new nationwide deal, covering most major employer groups and unions and spanning almost three years, was reached at the end of November. The two sides in the continuing negotiations for the paper sector will meet next time on March 10, but Ahonen said he does not expect a breakthrough then. "We are not willing to strike. However, if there will be a strike it will be really long and difficult ... there will be no winners," he said. Paper is one of Finland's key export sectors, along with electronics. The world's top magazine paper maker UPM-Kymmene (UPM1V.HE) gets some 50% of its output from Finland, while its larger Finnish-Swedish peer Stora Enso (STERV.HE) and Europe's top fine paper maker M-real (MRLBV.HE) have about one third of their production capacity in Finland. Earlier on Tuesday, Finnish investment bank eQ said a strike would mean daily losses of 5 Euro million to 6 Euro million for UPM. The main issue is the companies' demand for an end to annual shutdowns of Finnish paper mills for the midsummer and Christmas holidays, which add millions of Euros in costs. The workers say the bosses' offer to pay twice the normal wage for holiday work is too low. Paper workers, among the best-paid in Finnish industry, also want a 3.1-percent annual pay hike. The average salary of a Finnish paper worker is more than Euro 41,000. Employers say the paper sector's productivity has risen less than 5% in Finland since 2000, versus about 20% in the United States and 15% in Germany. At the same time labour costs in local currency have risen over 15% in Finland, more than elsewhere.