On 15 May 2019, representatives of Inter-IKEA Industry plant-level unions in Poland came together to discuss joint strategies to protect workers’ rights at Inter-IKEA Industry factories in Poland. The meeting took place in Warsaw at the headquarters of Solidarnost.
“In our discussions we realized that despite the fact that working conditions and employment practices are different at the Inter-IKEA Industry factories, there are common workers’ issues that we can negotiate at the national level with the Inter-IKEA Industry management in Poland,” said Michael Kukula, trade union leader of Solidarnost plant level union at the Zbaszynek Inter Ikea Industry factory.
He continued, “To do this, we recognized that we needed to meet to not only develop a common agenda but a common strategy and mechanisms to resolve our problems in a collective and coordinated manner.”
The common issues the plant-level unions identified were: wages, retirement programs, seniority benefits, and occupational health and safety preventive fund. The plant-level union representatives agreed that in order to solve these issues collectively they need to establish open dialogue with national management and begin national negotiations.
Inter-IKEA Industry plant-level trade union leaders recognized that through joint meetings they can findinspiration and solidarity amongst each other as well as learn constructive and positive strategies to develop national action plan to begin national negotiations.