Despite a Labour Relations Board ruling that Ikea negotiated a wage increase behind the union's back for picket line-crossing workers, the bitter 15-month dispute is unlikely to end any time soon.
On Monday, Ikea indicated it would appeal an LRB ruling released July 24 that agreed with the union’s assertion that additional compensation given to those workers who returned to their jobs amounted to bargaining in bad faith.
According to Teamsters Local 213, the LRB stated Ikea violated regulations by negotiating a pay rise directly with the 35 employees who crossed the picket line early in the dispute and who remain on the job.
They received an increase of $2.50 an hour, plus some unspecified premiums for work on weekends.
The boost to the pay packet for those workers — who have since been expelled from the union — was much more than what the union was asking for in negotiations with the Swedish-based home furnishings giant, said Anita Dawson, spokesperson for Teamsters Local 213.
“Those provisions they have given the workers who crossed the (picket) line were not part of the collective agreement we were seeking,” Dawson said.
Ikea disagrees with the LRB’s ruling.
In an email from Ikea, spokeswoman Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick stated the LRB’s decision is unprecedented in regards to restricting an employer from determining the terms and conditions of employment during a legal strike when there is no collective agreement in place.
“The managers and employees who have been working for over a year behind the picket line have served over 1.4 million customers,” she wrote. “They are meeting these customers with a reduced workforce and are learning new skills and working in new areas.
"Many are performing functions that are higher-paid roles with a higher level of responsibility from their usual jobs. As a result, Ikea felt that added compensation was fair.”
As for bypassing the union and negotiating directly with the workers, Löwenborg-Frick added, “We feel it is important to communicate directly with our employees through the strike and to answer any questions that they may have in a straightforward and honest manner.
"We have maintained throughout the strike that we will make ourselves available to our employees.”
The LRB’s ruling also indicated Ikea must cease paying the monetary incentives and provide payment of damages to the union.
Just how much that could be, Dawson was unsure. She added no decision has been made on what that money would be used for.
With about 300 picketing workers receiving $350 a week in strike pay, Dawson said that, despite the length of the strike — pickets went up May 13, 2013 — the union’s war chest remains able to meet its needs, thanks to some donations from other unions and groups who support their fight.
