Hundreds of Ikea workers in Auckland to strike for first time at Labour weekend, ‘disruption’ expected for shoppers
About 300 Ikea workers in Auckland are planning a strike over the upcoming long weekend to protest pay and benefit conditions. The union claims the company is failing to provide weekend penalty rates similar to those offered in Australia.
Why it matters
This industrial action highlights ongoing tensions regarding labor rights and wage parity for multinational retail employees in New Zealand.
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.
Ikea has confirmed the store will remain open despite the strike action.
Union deputy secretary Rudd Hughes told the Herald the strike was expected to cause “a lot of disruption for customers” in what was set 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.”
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