Port Workers In IKEA Supply Chain To Hold Solidarity Actions Over Lockout

-- ITF Unions at 10 International Ports to Rally in Support of Locked-Out IKEA Teamsters

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomorrow, dock workers at 10 ports around the globe will rally in support of the 350 Teamsters who have been locked out from their jobs without pay for seven months at IKEA's store in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)

The dock workers, who are members of unions in the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), will carry banners that read "Dockers Solidarity with IKEA Workers/ITF." 

Dock workers will hold rallies at ports in Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Last month, an International Fact-Finding Commission formed by UNI Global Union and the ITF held hearings on the lockout. The Commission released their findings in a report, "How IKEA is Hurting Families: Report on the IKEA Lockout in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada." The report calls on IKEA to end the lockout and return to the bargaining table in good faith immediately. The report is available in A4 size (bit.ly/1iXdd8K) and U.S. letter size (bit.ly/19hJUYy).

What: Protest of IKEA's lockout of 350 workers in British Columbia, Canada, by the Swedish Transport Workers' Union, the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (AKT), the Norwegian Transport Workers' Union, the United Federation of Danish Workers (3F), Unite the Union, the Belgian Transport Workers' Union (BTB), ACV-CSC, Zenkoku-Kowan, the Maritime Union of Australia, FNV Bondgenoten, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Where: Ports at: Gothenburg, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Kristiansand, Norway; Aarhus, Denmark; Felixstowe, UK; Zeebrugge, Belgium; Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Vancouver, Canada.

When: Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Visuals: ITF dock workers, banners, signs.