AUCKLAND, New Zealand — More than 50 Workers First Union members walked out of the Ikea store here Oct. 24 and set up a picket line to demand better pay and working conditions. Their yellow uniforms caught the eye on the busy road outside the store.
“This picket is a boost for our morale,” shop steward Amber Willis, a member of the union’s bargaining committee, told the Militant. For months the union has been pressing the company to sign its first union contract. The union says 300 workers out of the 400 that work there have joined the union.
Willis said the company’s refusal to pay extra for weekend work is “a big thing in the dispute.” Workers First says that Ikea pays this in Australia, and overall the company is offering a “low ball” pay raise. The effects of the ever-rising cost of living — official inflation is at 3.7% — got worse for many workers when the company reduced their hours several months ago. Ieuan Davies added that unsafe working conditions and management harassment are other important issues.
Most pickets said they had worked at Ikea ever since the store — the first in New Zealand — opened last December. Amid the fanfare and free advertising the multinational retailer got when it opened, managers told new hires they were the “chosen ones,” claiming they had received 25,000 applications for the original 500 jobs. New Zealand’s official unemployment rate is 5.6%.
“We’re looking at future strike actions next weekend,” Willis said.