Global Agreement with IKEA: Dialogue for Deaf Ears?

Abstract

FOCUS □ GLOBALFRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS Global Agreement with IKEA: Dialogue for Deaf Ears? In2011, we learned that Swedwood had hireda known union-busting companyto give it advice on what appears to be the best way to stop workersfrom joininga union and bargaininga collective agreement. BOB RAMSAY isdirector of Wood and Forestry for the Building and Wood Workers' International IKEA series andfurnishing is of the secret world's products. foundations, largest Itis retailer based owned of in through furniture Holland a IKEA andfurnishing products. Itisownedthrough a seriesofsecret foundations, based inHolland andLichtenstein, whicharetaxfree andultimatelycontrolled bytheKamprad family who establishedthecompany inthemidtwentieth century. TheKamprad family, through thevarious foundations , also ownsa manufacturing company called Swedwood,whichis reputedto be theworld's largest manufacturer ofwood-basedfurniture. Swedwoodproduces exclusively for IKEA, tothe designsthatIKEAdictates and in thequantities whichIKEArequests.IKEAand Swedwood are moreliketwoarmsofthesameoctopus.Eachis inter-dependent, and each backedultimately by thesameowners. Back in 1999,IKEAsignedan agreement with theBuildingand Wood Workers'International (BWI) whereitagreedto includethemostbasic oflabourstandards initscode ofconduct for suppliers ,theIWAY.Itwould workto ensurethat theseworking people, no matter whereon the planetthey worked, wouldhavethesamerights. Overtheyears,BWI and IKEAhave developed their cooperationto ensurethesestandards are adhered tobytheover1,000IKEAsuppliers. This dialoguewas proving beneficial to bothparties. However, thedialoguehasstalled inrecent years, eversinceBWIstarted asking someuncomfortable questions (forIKEA). In 2008,BWIbegana dialoguewithIKEAand later withSwedwood,toensurethat 300workers atitsnewly openedplant inDanville, Virginia (USA) shouldalso benefit from thisagreement and dialogue .BWIrequested that itsaffiliated union,the InternationalAssociation of Machinistsand AerospaceWorkers (IAMAW),whichorganises workers inthewoodindustry, be allowedtoenter theDanvilleplantand inform employees oftheir rights to jointheunion.Despiteseveraldiscussions ,themanagement ofSwedwoodhas never agreedtoallowtheunionintotalktoitsemployees andletthemdecidefreely. BWIhasreceived alarming reports from theplant inDanville, USA.Workers reported that they were dismissed justfor saying they wouldwelcome joininga union.Others reported that somemanagers werediscriminating against workers. Therewerehealthand safety problems at the factory. Finallythecompanywas finedby the Virginia health andsafety authorities US$10,000 for breachesofrelevant legislation. Earlier in2011,we learned that Swedwoodhad hireda knownunion-busting company togiveit adviceonwhatappearstobe thebestwaytostop workers from joining a unionandbargaining a collective agreement. Throughout this time, bothIKEAandSwedwood haveclaimedthat they areadhering strictly tothe laws in thestateofVirginia, and theyhavetime after time, refused theunionaccesstotalktothe workers directly, andallowthem tomakeuptheir ownminds aboutjoining a union.Thecompanies havefurther repeatedly claimed that theSwedwood employees arefreetomaketheir owndecision. However, thereality isvery different, according totheinformation we havereceived from theunion intheUSafter ithasbeenincontact with someof the workersin Danville. One worker,Kylette Duncan,quotedintheUSmediaonApril 10,complainedthat shehadtoleaveherjob becauseshe was forcedto workovertime and had to cancel herhusband's visits tohisdoctor. Thesamearticle raisesissueofdiscrimination at theplant, "Ifwe putinfor a better job,we wouldn 'tgetit- itwouldalwaysgo toa white person," saidJackie Maubin, whoworked thenight shift in thepackingdepartment until lastyear, whenshe was fired on herbirthday. Intheworking atmosphere created bymanagers andsupervisors intheDanvilleplant, workers are scaredto utter anypro-union sentiments. IKEA claimsthatithiredan expensive teamofconsultants tocarry outa survey ofworker attitudes. Ourinformation saysthat theworkers interviewed wereverywaryaboutgiving their trueopinions, given thepervading atmosphere ofthreats andfear whichexists. BWIand itsaffiliates haveshownconsiderable patience throughout a process ofdialogueanddiscussionwhichbeganin2008 .Itisnow1,068days sincewe first metwithSwedwood.Duringthe processofcommunication, therehavebeen two CEOsofIKEA, twoCEOsofSwedwood, twoIKEA sustainability managers andthree plantmanagers atDanville, yetstill we havemadeno progress. Workers inDanvillehavefacedharassment, discrimination andhavebeenrefused theright ofrepresentation . We haveseen no decisionfrom the company to simply allowtheunionintotalkto theworkers. INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 18Volume 18Issue 22011 Page 19Volume 18Issue 2201 1 INTERNATIONAL union rights Throughout thisprocessofdrawn-out discussionsand dialoguewiththecompanies,unions havenotbeen sitting idleas IKEAasksformore time, moremeetings, morediscussions. Through a series ofappealsontheir ownwebsites, theBWI and itskey affiliates the IAMAWand GS (the Swedish unionwhichorganises Swedwoodworkersin thecompany's homecountry) have been callingforsupport from thegeneralpublicand union members around theworld tolendtheir solidarity totheir campaign. Thousandshavejoined thisaction,to politely demandtherights ofthe workers inDanville. Despitethegrowing waveof opinion, IKEAwillnotagreetothesimple demand oftheworkers andtheunionsinSweden, theUSA and aroundtheglobe:Do theright thing! Open thedoorsatDanville totheunionandlettheworkersdecideforthemselves ! ■ Moreinformation canbe foundat: www.bwint.org ...