Ikea, Coop and Kiwi are threatened by a major strike: Risks closed doors

In August, the parties broke off negotiations and now there is mediation. If Handel og Kontor (HK) and Virke do not agree on a collective agreement for employees in the retail trade during the mediation in the wage settlement on Thursday and Friday this week, many employees will be taken out on strike from 12 September.

– Many stores will close completely, while some will have reduced opening hours or that parts of the store are closed. It will be up to each store what is done, says HK leader Christopher Beckham to Nettavisen.

– You will meet closed shops and cheerful strike guards with fighting spirit and willingness to strike, he points out.

– Requires full pay

In total, according to HK’s overview, there is talk of employees in 201 companies that can be taken out on strike. How many employees will be taken out on strike, they will not go out with yet.

At the top of HK’s list of demands when they meet with the Ombudsman on Thursday, is full pay during illness. This means that the company pays salaries as usual when employees are on sick leave and themselves provide reimbursement from Nav.

HK does not want a strike, but a negotiated result. Beckham believes those who have been through a pandemic – which is still not over – deserve a risk surcharge.

– We demand that they receive full pay during illness. It is important and affordable, and our most important requirement, he says.

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To emphasize how important it is for them to get through with this demand, he points out that they have not gone to the Ombudsman with the current store agreement since 1990, and there has been no strike since 1963.

Beckahm has previously stated to FriFagbevegelse that they have tried to take out companies that have done well during the pandemic, and which have not laid off employees in recent months. This is to avoid a double load.

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Unclear how they are affected

The Ikea stores are among those who will be hit by a major strike in the retail industry. Both Forus in Sandnes, the department store in Åsane, Planning Studio in Oslo, the department store at Furuset in Oslo and Slependen in Asker, the customer center, and the department store at Leangen in Tronheim and in Ringsaker will be affected.

– We have just received an overview ourselves, but we do not yet know how many employees will be affected and how a strike will affect our department stores, says communications consultant Siv Westin at Ikea.

She says that it will probably vary how the department stores will be affected.

– But we support strikes as an important right among our employees, she points out.

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Will avoid closing

There are also a number of grocery stores, both Coop, Kiwi, Meny and Spar, which will be affected by the strike.

According to HK, there are a total of 121 Coop stores, of which 29 of these are Obs Bygg stores. There are 40 Menu stores, six Kiwi stores and 14 Spar stores that will be affected.

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– It is only from Saturday that there will be a strike and what happens, we must take then. We work as far as possible to keep the stores open. The goal is for no stores to close, says Hanne Evensen, communications manager at Kjøpmannshuset, to Nettavisen.

Kine Søyland, communications manager at Norgesgruppen, says that they follow developments closely.

– We try to make the plans we can, and plan for different scenarios. We can not go into detail. For the time being, the situation is unclear and we must wait, says Søyland.

The online newspaper has so far not succeeded in getting comments from Coop.

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