IKEA and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association have reached an agreement that offers the best parental leave plan I’ve ever heard of!  The agreement offers 26 weeks (that’s six months for those of you doing the math!) maternity leave and four weeks paternity leave, at full pay, to Co-workers who have been with the company at least two years. New moms also have the option of taking 12 months maternity leave at half-pay.  The offer is available to same-sex couples as well.

David Hood, Ikea Australia’s country manager, told new.com.au the new agreement aims to

“create a better everyday life for co-workers.

“Despite the prospect of rising unemployment rates, it still remains a challenge to attract and retain a diverse group of co-workers,” he said.

“By offering some of the best employee benefits in Australia, we are demonstrating our commitment to co-workers, and aim to be ranked amongst the best employers of choice in the retail sector.

“Our core customers are families with young children, and we want our co-worker team to reflect this. Supporting family life at home for co-workers is one of the best ways we can achieve this aim.”

Unprecedented job cuts at Ikea due to crisis

Ikea Weighs More Job Cuts as Sales Growth Slows

Over the past ten months, IKEA have slashed 5,000 jobs worldwide, mainly in manufacturing and logistics.

“We have never had to implement such massive job cuts before…. But it is completely necessary to adapt our costs and our capacity to demand, which is weaker than we expected,” managing director Anders Dahlvig said two weeks ago.

He said IKEA was caught off guard by the severity of the economic crisis.

“The sharp downturn of the economy has really surprised us. This downturn is very closely linked to the housing sector and is therefore even worse for our industry. Home decorating has plunged much more than the retail sector in general,” he said.

And yesterday comes this, “There might be layoffs, since we have to adjust the organization to the dampened sales growth,” said spokeswoman Charlotte Lindgren, adding that the company doesn’t yet know how many jobs would be affected.

The economic slowdown has helped IKEA boost its market share as its low-price products have won out over those of more expensive competitors. Nonetheless, its sales are about eight billion Swedish kronor, or $1 billion, below budget for 2009, Ms. Lindgren said.

Although IKEA plans to cut new store growth in half, 14 new stores are due to open this year, an investment worth some 12 billion kronor ($1.5 billion), Dahlvig said.

And new staff will be needed for those stores, so IKEA expects its number of employees worldwide to remain at around 130,000 despite the cutbacks.

World Environment Day, was created by the United Nations in 1972 to mark the start of the Stockholm Convention on the Human Environment. Its mission is simple:

1. Give a human face to environmental issues;
2. Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
3. Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues;
4. Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

This year’s theme, ‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change’, is a topic that reflects everyone’s individual responsibility to protect the planet.

In honor of the day, I thought I’d share some of the ways IKEA and its Co-Workers are taking responsibility globally.

Ontario, Canada ~ IKEA Canada Co-Workers and Tree Canada celebrate 13 years of planting trees together as part of IKEA’s “Pick a Tree, Plant a Tree” program. The program is funded by last year’s Christmas tree sale and the $0.05 plastic bag fee.  Pick a Tree, Plant a Tree is responsible for 14,450 trees and shrubs, which will offset a total of 1774.4 tonnes of CO(2) in a 20 year period. This equals someone driving a mid sized car for more than 290,000 kilometres or 50 times from Vancouver to Halifax.

Maylaysia ~ Starting today, IKEA Malaysia will stop giving customers free plastic bags. Instead, customers are ­encouraged to bring their own bags or purchase IKEA’s iconic reusable Big Blue Bag. For ­customers who still insist on having plastic bags, IKEA will be charging 10sen and 20sen for each small- and medium/large-sized plastic bags respectively.  Chong Hock Ben, social and environment manager of IKEA Malaysia says, “The money raised from the sales of plastic bags will be donated to the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), which is the largest, oldest and leading local environmental non-profit ­organization.  “With the proceeds, IKEA in ­collaboration with MNS will plant and maintain mangrove trees at the mangrove forest in Kuala Selangor Nature Park to offset carbon dioxide emissions.

United Kingdom ~ With their ‘One Step Greener with Every Swipe’ program, every time you swipe your IKEA Family Card, IKEA makes a donation to Woodland Trust to create one square foot of woodland.

These are just a few of the ways IKEA is doing their part. Share with us how your local IKEA store and its co-workers are giving back.  Not just on World Environment Day, but everyday. Every little bit helps right? Let us know over in our forums.

I hear you, I hear you…what about the contest?!  Here it is!

*CONTEST*

Want to have a little fun and earn some prizes (including an eco-friendly vacation!)?  Yes?! Then head over here and tell IKEA how you are doing your part and re-using your Big Blue Bag.  I couldn’t find anything saying co-workers weren’t eligble so you guys join in the fun too! (and please correct me if I’m wrong on this!!)

Need a hit of socialization with your fellow IKEA Co-Workers worldwide? Find other IKEA Co-Workers on Social Networks around the world:

LinkedIn:

IKEA Co-Worker Group
IKEA Enterprise Group

IKEAFANS.com Forums

Private Co-Workers Forum

Facebook

IKEA Fan Group Page
IKEA Co-Workers Group
IKEA Comm-In Co-Workers Group

Twitter

IKEA on Twitter
Twitter discussions about IKEA
IKEAFANS on Twitter

We’re proud to announce that The IKEA World Forum has been launched at IKEAFANS.com! The IKEA Fans Forums are a great place for fans of IKEA to hang out already,  and the forum is going to be a fantastic place for IKEA Co-Workers to chat, share war stories, and relax with others who know what it’s like to be part of The IKEA World.

Because it’s a private forum, you’ll need to request an invite: Email for Invite to Private IKEA Co-worker Forum.  You can discuss working at IKEA with other IKEA Co-workers, learn about jobs at IKEA, and find out more about what it’s like to work at IKEA stores around the world.

Check out the IKEAFANS.com IKEA Co-Worker Forum here: The IKEA World – IKEA Co-Workers Forum at IKEAFANS.com