2023-09-19 19:19:47
The Swedish Ikea chain announced this Tuesday the signing of its third equality plan which includes, among other measures, the application of four additional months of paid leave to care for minors which are added to the maternity and paternity leave, two months more than in the previous equality plan. The plan has been signed with the unions FETICO, CCOO and UGT. It comes to review and improve the one signed in 2018 with a validity of four years and contemplates more than 100 measures to promote equality and conciliation of the workforce.
The new plan contemplates the extension of paid maternity/paternity leave for two more months, up to four months; which is added to the leave already contemplated at the legal level of 16 weeks for birth and care of the minor. In addition, single-parent families will have two additional weeks of paid leave after the child’s birth permit.
Another of the measures approved with the unions is the expansion and improvement of support and accompaniment measures in the case of women affected by gender violence. Among these measures is financial aid of 1,200 euros for the first transfer to workers who are victims of gender violence, in addition to the rest of the support and accompaniment measures. People who are on sick leave due to temporary disability due to situations of gender violence will not have that period deducted from the calculation of the bonus program and will receive psychological support.
Within the framework of the reduction of the wage gap, the company undertakes that if unjustified salary differences above 15% are detected, a plan will be put in place to correct the situation. The current law requires action to be taken if this difference is above 25%.
One of the elements that differentiates Ikea of most companies is the treatment that staff receive in the event of the death of family members. Thus, in the case of the death of a first-degree relative, in addition to what is provided for by labor regulations, unpaid leave of up to one month will be granted. Paid leave is also provided for the couple to accompany a childbirth preparation class, for example.
The equality plans were launched at Ikea in 2011. In its II Plan it approved paternity leave that exceeded the then legally valid one by three weeks or the regulation of digital disconnection for its staff.
Six out of every 10 people who work at Ikea are women, half in management positions and even on the company’s management committee in Spain. The Swedish origin of Ikea has a lot to do with this objective of enhancing the role of women in the company. Much of the ‘Swedish miracle’ of economic recovery after the Second World War was due to the massive incorporation of women into employment in Sweden, compared to the Mediterranean economies in which it took many years for women to be part of the employment statistics. active population.
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Ikea achieved a net profit of 88 million euros in Spain during its 2022 fiscal year, which closed in August, which implies an increase of 5.2% compared to 2021. In addition, it achieved a turnover of 1,820 million euros, an 8 .2% more, and increased its gross operating result (ebitda) by 28.5%, to 175 million euros. Ikea’s intention is to increase its workforce in Spain by 15% over the next two years, compared to the 9,765 employees it had at the end of the year.
Ikea has been able to reinvent itself in recent years, in the midst of the crisis of large stores, with the exploration of new urban commercial formats adapted to each target market. Along these lines, Ikea has announced that during this year it will open more than 40 new contact points in Spain – 12 points of sale of various formats and 32 collection points – and that it intends to double this figure next year. His goal is for anyone to have a point. Ikea less than 15 minutes walking or 30 minutes by car, with omnichannel sales at the center of growth (sales via the internet and in stores interchangeably). The manufacture and sale of furniture and decorative objects continues to be at the center of the business, although the multinational is beginning to explore new services that improve profitability. Ikea stores received 43 million visitors last year, 20% more than the previous year.
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