Support IKEA workers – Reinstate Richie Venton
Iain Dalton, Usdaw Broad Left Chair
Usdaw members will have been shocked when they learned of the sacking of Richie Venton, Usdaw Executive Council member for Scotland, and Usdaw shop steward and convener in IKEA Glasgow.
This arose because IKEA were driving through changes to sick pay policies, by removing wages from those forced into self isolation by Covid, putting them on company sick benefit instead, which many are then excluded from under an absence threshold, instead having to rely on the measly £95 a week statutory sick pay.
Richie was sacked for opposing this, demanding full average wages for those off with Covid, and for informing his members.
Since his sacking, IKEA are driving through further drastic changes, with much lower absence thresholds.
Given the dangers of Covid, it is essential to fight for full average pay for workers from day one of any sickness.
So far the Usdaw leadership seems to have refused to give any comment to the press, perhaps because as a supporter of the Broad Left Richie has been critical of the lack of leadership from the top of the union for retail and distributive workers when they have been under a tsunami of attacks as the retail sector has been in crisis in recent years.
But this lack of action in defending any shop steward, let alone a member of the Executive Council, the highest lay body of the union, will give the green light for any employer to seek to discipline and sack union reps.
This situation should be immediately turned around with the union not leaving any stone unturned to defend Richie, including legal challenges, publicity, but most crucially by mobilizing Usdaw members in Ikea and the wider trade union movement in support.
This could include protests outside Ikea stores and, if necessary, strike action by Glasgow Ikea workers and throughout the Ikea network.
Already, a meeting of Glasgow Ikea workers has voted unanimously to be balloted for strike action, this should be authorised by the Executive, with resources put in to help win the ballot and build wider support against these attacks by Ikea management.
As the impact of Covid and the economic downturn which was developing beforehand becomes more and more clear, Ikea will be far from the only company to seek to protect their profits by attacking the pay and conditions of their workers, and in the process attempt to attack the union and its elected representatives.
Failure by the Usdaw leadership here will have negative repurcussions for future battles, whilst winning Richie’s reinstatement will give a boost of confidence to retail workers and Usdaw members and reps throughout the country to face these attacks with resolute opposition.
Sign the petition to reinstate Richie Venton and restore sick workers wages here – https:// reinstaterichieventon.com/petition/
