'Disruption for customers': 300 Ikea workers to strike over holiday weekend

About 300 Ikea workers in Auckland are set to take industrial action this long weekend, their union has announced. 

Workers First Union said members would strike from 12pm-4pm tomorrow outside Ikea’s Sylvia Park store. 

Union deputy secretary Rudd Hughes told the Herald the strike was expected to cause “a lot of disruption for customers” in what was expected to be a busy period for the popular homeware retailer. 

“We’re going to be out on a picket line. There’s going to be no one in the shop, basically, to serve them. And quite frankly, if I was looking to be an Ikea customer, I wouldn’t be going in on Saturday.” 

Hughes said 95% of members voted to strike over the company’s refusal to provide weekend penalty rates as it does in other countries such as Australia, a “low-ball” pay offer and a range of benefits. 

“There is no reason why Ikea workers in New Zealand should have to accept a worse deal than Ikea workers in any other country. 

“Ikea came to this country trumpeting their ‘progressive’ attitude concerning industrial relations, but talk is cheap and so is their offer to workers.” 

Hughes said the union, which has been negotiating with Ikea for eight months, rejected a pay offer that was less than the rate of inflation. 

“They’re not offering a CPI [consumers price index] increase. That’s a pay cut. 

“What we’re finding particularly galling is that they often say we treat all our workers the same. And yet in Australia, they get penal rates on weekends. And they’re not delivering that to our members. 

“What they’ve said was, ‘We’re legally mandated to give overtime in Australia. We don’t have to do it here. So we’re not going to.’ It’s looking at New Zealanders as cheap labour, and it’s treating us as second-class citizens.” 

Hughes said other similar retail companies like Costco, H&M and The Warehouse offer weekend penal rates – a higher hourly wage as compensation for working on Saturdays and Sundays – to employees. 

He said the union represented about 75% of Ikea’s Auckland staff. 

Ikea has been approached for comment.