Unionised workers at the IKEA store in Montreal will return to work at midnight on Sunday, temporarily halting their strike to allow negotiations to resume. A bargaining session between the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and IKEA is scheduled for Monday.
The strike, which began at midnight the past Saturday, was originally planned to last ten days. The CSN stated the return to work is intended to "give negotiations a chance".
Approximately 450 employees, represented by the CSN, work in roles across the store, including in the warehouse, showroom, and kitchen. The union claims these workers earn less than employees in similar roles at other retailers and have not received salaries indexed to inflation. It also reported that IKEA's proposed wage increase averages about 5% over four years.
As of Sunday evening, IKEA's website continued to list temporary service disruptions at the Montreal store on Cavendish Boulevard. Affected departments included the returns counter, delivery service, restaurant, and kitchen planning service.
In a public notice, IKEA stated: 'We support our employees in their right to strike and remain committed to reaching a collective agreement and returning to normal operations as soon as possible.'
The employees have been working without a contract since January. At the time of publication, IKEA Canada had not responded to multiple requests for comment.
IKEA, founded in Sweden and now headquartered in the Netherlands, operates 16 stores in Canada, including three in Quebec: Montreal, Boucherville, and Quebec City.
Source: www.canadafrancais.com