IKEA factories in the Leningrad region and Novgorod resumed work

S.-PETERSBURG, Sep 1 – PRIME. IKEA factories in Tikhvin and Novgorod, which were idle, resumed work on September 1 as part of pre-sale preparation, Alexander Illarionov, the organizer of the forest industries trade union, told RIA Novosti.

“Yes, in Tikhvin, about half of the workers remained at the factory, this is about 500 people. Approximately the same number in Novgorod. Factories resumed work on September 1 as part of pre-sale preparation. On September 5, the factory in Vyatka should start working,” Illarionov said.

He added that it is expected that the pre-sale preparation will last until the New Year, when the production should be bought out by a new owner.

According to Illarionov, the employees of the enterprises hope that the terms of their collective agreement will not change with the change of ownership.

In July, Rostrud reported that it monitors the observance of the labor rights of IKEA employees in the Russian Federation, so far there have been no mass appeals from employees to the department. The department noted that, on behalf of the Ministry of Labor, both employment services and state labor inspectorates have been switched to a proactive mode – they react upon receipt of notifications about the upcoming reduction in the monitoring.

IKEA is the world’s largest home improvement retailer founded in 1943 in Sweden. Since 2000, the company has opened 26 stores in 13 regions of Russia (including hypermarkets in the Mega shopping center, studios and urban stores). In March, the company announced that it was suspending all sales in Russia, and in June that it did not see the possibility of resuming them in the foreseeable future, in connection with which it would cut Russian staff and sell local factories.