"Ikea strike: 24 hours of protest for the failure to renew the supplementary contract. It's a clash with the company"

Protests erupt among Ikea workers. The sindacati of the Filcams-Cgil, Fisascat-Cisl and Uiltucs categories have declared a 24 hour strike ... after having decided to interrupt negotiations for the renewal of the company's supplementary contract with the Swedish multinational.

“After more than a year and a half of intense meetings, the company has completely ignored union demands, turning its back on its employees", denounce the trade unions, who accuse Ikea of fail[ing] to adequately recognize the value of its workers.

The main demands of Ikea workers

Among most critical issues raised by unions there are:

• Failure to recognize increases for new hires, with the risk of worsening working conditions for new generations of workers
• A derogatory and worsening system of professionalism, which would limit the prospects of internal growth and the development of skills
• Elimination of “statistical illness”, an acquired right that allowed for a fairer management of sickness absences
• Mandatory work on holidays, a measure that, according to the unions, would limit workers' freedom and their ability to reconcile private life and work

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Ikea's response: "Sorry about the outcome of the negotiations"

Faced with protests, Ikea [released] a press release [stating] that the negotiations have broken down despite the company's commitment to improving the economic conditions of workers. "We are disappointed with the outcome of the negotiation, as our proposal aimed to increase the bonuses for Sunday and holiday work and to create an equal and inclusive premium accessible to all co-workers”, explains the company.

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Ikea rejects union accusations and reiterates that it "has not proposed any worsening compared to what is already recognized by the legislation and the current supplementary contract".

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