Following legal proceedings brought against IKEA’s haulage supplier BRING Trucking concerning non-payment of DKK 1.8 million in salary, IKEA Transport is now calling for clearer legislation and regulations which can serve to ensure fair transport in Scandinavia. The haulage supplier risks the annulment of its contract with IKEA if it fails to put its house in order.
In the upcoming trial at Copenhagen City Court a Romanian haulier employed by BRING Trucking has demanded to be paid a Danish salary and payment in arrears amounting to DKK 1.8 million. 3F Transport underlines that this is a case of serious underpayment of salary and a breach of EU regulations.
Environmental manager of IKEA Transport Global, Elisabeth Munk, states that IKEA is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with BRING Trucking.
“In recent years we have paid particular attention to BRING’s activities and have carried out additional checks. If it transpires that BRING has breached legislation or our IWAY criteria, we will prepare a plan of action together with BRING in order to address and resolve these matters. If, contrary to expectations, BRING fails or refuses to implement this plan of action, this will have consequences, including potential annulment of its contract with IKEA, either in part or entirely,” states Elisabeth Munk.
Call for clearer legislation
Elisabeth Munk stresses that it is of great importance for IKEA Transport that the hauliers who transport IKEA’s products have good and acceptable working conditions.
“For this reason IKEA Transport is calling for clearer legislation and a clearer set of rules both at national and EU level which can serve to minimise the risk of underpayment of workers. Accordingly we are of the opinion that it is a good thing that cases such as this one are subject to legal trials, and we will be monitoring the case closely to see whether it will give cause for IKEA Transport to implement changes or new initiatives,” says Elisabeth Munk.
Notice of the legal proceedings were submitted to IKEA’s haulage supplier BRING Trucking in Slovakia on Friday 19th May. BRING Trucking is a Norwegian state-owned company, and its owners have yet to make any comment on the legal proceedings.
IKEA: Our criteria apply at every point in the supply chain
Elisabeth Munk emphasizes that IKEA Transport is already making significant efforts in this area.
“We place clear demands on our suppliers, and require that they observe applicable legislation together with IKEA’s code of conduct. Furthermore IKEA Transport carries out on-site spot checks in order to ensure that the stipulated requirements are in fact being met. In addition we are in the process of launching a programme which will consolidate the requirements we place on our subcontractors, and our monitoring of them,” says Elisabeth Munk.
As an example of this she cites the fact that in 2016 IKEA Transport introduced a policy of interviewing hauliers in order to gauge first-hand the day-to-day working conditions of the hauliers employed by our transport suppliers.
She emphasizes further that in order to address the challenges faced by the haulage industry it will be necessary for all actors to contribute with efforts, including legislative bodies, public authorities, unions, haulage suppliers and their customers.
It is a Romanian haulier named Emilian Tudor Jetzi who has brought legal proceedings against BRING Trucking. This has taken place with the assistance of the Romanian hauliers’ union SLT together with 3F Transport, both of which organizations wish to establish whether EU regulations can serve to ensure fair transport.
3F: Both Danish and EU law has been breached
Copenhagen City Court in Denmark will now seek to reach a decision on the matter of whether the haulage contractor transporting furniture for IKEA in Scandinavia can get away with paying a Slovakian salary to its Romanian hauliers, despite the fact that they exclusively operate in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland and at no time transport goods within Slovakia or Romania. The Court must also reach a decision on the matter of whether a series of breaches of both Danish legislation and EU regulations have taken place.
“It is unequivocally our assessment that the Romanian haulier in question has been on secondment in Denmark, and accordingly is entitled to be paid a salary at a Danish level and to be given a Danish contract,” says Jan Villadsen, general secretary of 3F Transport.