Overworked, understaffed: Belgian Ikea staff strike for better conditions

Workers at Ikea stores in Anderlecht (Brussels), Hognoul (Liège), Mons (Hainaut) and Wilrijk (Antwerp) are striking as a result of heavy workloads, poor working conditions and staffing issues.

Unions warn that the movement could spread to even more stores, with workers at the store in Zaventem also expected to join the efforts.

“It's not all the staff, but a large proportion of them,” said Manuel Gonzalez, permanent representative of the CNE Commerce union.

“There are two main reasons: the first is solidarity with the staff at other stores. The second, and most important, is that the staff are experiencing the same thing: excessive workloads and a lack of staff.”

Unions reported that 70% of the staff at the Hognoul site were on strike on Monday, compared with half in Wilrijk (Antwerp). Local management disputed this figure, citing a strike rate of 15% out of a total of 157 active employees.

Four of the eight Belgian sites have walked out on strike so far, though not all stores are completely closed, as is the case in Liège.

Negotiations between the unions and management are ongoing, but so far no compromise has been reached.

The strikers’ demands include an increase in staff numbers with permanent contracts to ease the pressure, which management says is not on the table.

“Over the past week, numerous discussions have been held with a view to listening to each employee and finding concrete and immediate measures,” a sales manager at the Hognoul said in a statement.

“These include strengthening the teams and improving the internal organisation of the Liège store. These proposals for improvement were rejected by the social partners this weekend.”

“We started in Liège and it's spreading to other stores,” said Fabian Foriers, union representative at Ikea Liège.

“The staff are no longer being listened to about the excessive workload and the disorganisation of all departments due to a lack of manpower. We’re starting to become exhausted and we can't take it any more. We’re very angry. It's not about wages, it's about working conditions.”

Unions said there was a shortage of "two full-time equivalents per department".

“We’re constantly overworked,” Foriers said.

“We’ve been suffering for over a year and a half. Unfortunately, management doesn’t want to listen to us.”

Employees said there was a lack of consideration for their working conditions, a problem that seems to be widespread across all the group’s stores.

“The workers are very unhappy with their workload, the holiday leave they are unable to take and their daily experience in the store,” said Nectaria Saroglou, representative of the SETCa union.

“They’re asking for more staff. There are not enough staff to cope with the work that needs to be done.”