The leader of the metal workers’ union in Finland has criticised metal industry heads for their pessimism, claiming that their glum outlook is prompting many to consider industrial action.

Riku Aalto, President of the Metalworkers’ Union, claims that the outlook for the industry is not as bad as metal industry heads are claiming, implying that employers are exaggerating the difficulties they are facing in an effort to pay less in wages.

He claims that the order books are bulging, despite a recent assertion by the deputy Managing Director of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, Risto Alanko, that the union’s demands were excessive and could not be met.

Riku Aalto commented “We are more optimistic than our partner here. We have had 1.2 billion euros of new orders in the last month, so we think that one reason that our partner is telling these kinds of bad stories is that they are going to affect our negotiations. Of course we understand the world and the economic crisis in Europe, but in reality our factories are doing well now and they have more orders than in previous times.”

If no resolution is found, union members may go on strike on October 21st, the Aalto adding “We hope that our threats of a strike will be enough, and we’ll get a good resolution to the negotiations.”