December 16, 2013
By Neal Tepel
New York, NY – Since May 13, 2013, more than 300 Teamsters have been locked out from their jobs without pay at IKEA´s store in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. On December 10, 2013 representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other labor organizations went to Sweden to ask IKEA to end the abuse of its workers in Canada and stop the lockout.
The report, "How IKEA is Hurting Families: Report on the IKEA Lockout in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada" outlines the findings of an International Fact-Finding Commission formed by UNI Global Union and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) at the request of Teamsters Canada and describes how far IKEA has departed from its original Swedish values.
For more than six months IKEA has locked out their employees at its Richmond store because they exercised their legal right to vote down IKEA's demands for wage and benefit givebacks. Labor organizations from around the world have called on IKEA to end its lockout and return to the bargaining table in good faith immediately.
IKEA has clearly violated not only its own code of conduct, but also international labor standards. It's unacceptable that IKEA continues to lock out and intimidate workers in Canada. The labor world must be united and hold IKEA accountable for their deplorable actions. Let's not forget those that mistreat workers.
