Staff at IKEA Glasgow are set to strike after the firm sacked a trade union rep who fought cuts to workers’ sick pay.
Changes to working conditions at IKEA in the UK will see many workers relying on statutory sick pay of only £95 a week if they have coronavirus or have to self-isolate.
Workers at its Braehead superstore claim sick employees will feel pressured into coming to work, putting colleagues and customers at risk.
The Daily Record reports the changes, set to begin next month, mean even IKEA’s UK employees with perfect attendance will only be entitled to their wages for the first 10 days of sickness – short of the corona self-isolation period of two weeks.
A penalty points system indicates that if they have been absent more than twice in the previous year, they will go straight on to statutory sick pay.
Employee Richie Venton, a trade union rep for the USDAW shopworkers’ trade union at IKEA’s store at Braehead, was fired after bosses said he “breached confidentiality” by forewarning staff of the changes before it was announced by managers.
Furious workers have called for a ballot on strike action, claiming Venton has been victimised for standing up for staff and arguing those with Covid-19 be paid their full wages.
A staff statement said: “We demand that IKEA immediately reinstate Richie Venton to his job and his position our elected union representative and stop their cuts to our rights and conditions. If that does not happen immediately, we call on USDAW to organise every possible form of action, including legal action and a vote for industrial action.”
In March, the Scottish Government signed a joint statement with the Scottish Trades Union Congress calling on employers to pay workers in full when sick or isolating.
Last night, the SNP’s Chris Stephens MP called the wage cut “dangerous” as it could result in workers returning to work to make ends meet before it is safe to do so.
An IKEA spokeswoman said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases. We have a close working relationship with USDAW and we are not aware of any industrial action being raised.”
She added: “While we understand this is an uncertain time for our co-workers, we would like to reassure them that the new policy is in relation to general absence. For Covid-19-related absence, IKEA is working with a separate absence addendum.”
