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| IKEA Korea Country Retail Manager Fredrik Johansson purchases product at an IKEA Lab store that opened Thursday in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul. / Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-heun
IKEA Korea's union filed a complaint to the Ministry of Employment and Labor against the company for preventing them from picketing at the stores to improve their working environment.
The union took a vote Monday on requesting the company to improve their working conditions to match the global standard in other IKEA stores around the world, and 96 percent of them said yes.
This led the group to start protesting the next day at the stores.
However, IKEA Korea immediately took down their placards and separated them from non-union members while transferring workers to different teams.
The union expressed anger about the company's response and suppression of its lawful act of dispute by calling it a strike.
From February this year, IKEA Korea's union has been negotiating with the firm to raise the salary for Korean employees but they have not reached an agreement yet.
According to the union, IKEA pays an average hourly wage of $15 in other countries but Korean workers are paid the minimum wage of 8,590 won ($7.50). Also, special allowances for working overtime or on the weekend are relatively low for Korean workers and cheaper meals are provided here.
The union has been requesting the company to improve these conditions while guaranteeing their days off and fair salaries. It further demanded fair work schedules and clear criteria for personnel dismissal.
"The company has induced competition between workers by paying different wages despite working the same hours," union leader Jung Yoon-taek said.
Meanwhile, IKEA Korea said it had to take action against the placards and workers wearing protest vests displaying key demands, as they could appear threatening to customers entering the stores.
Currently, the company is restricting workers at grocery stores and in delivery services from wearing the vests.
"We will take safety of our customer as the first priority and this will not be negotiated. We are obeying all the laws and regulations of each country. All the workers must follow the in-house rules strictly," an IKEA official said.
