Employees of the IKEA store in Montreal are holding a first day of strike on Saturday, causing longer wait times for customers wishing to shop there.

Without a contract since December 31, the 500 or so employees of the famous furniture store voted on Friday evening, by a large majority (97%) to have a bank of 10 strike days.

During their first day of strike, Saturday, several employees went to the site to form a picket line.

"All union members respect [the strike mandate] which has been voted", confirmed Laurent Soumis, spokesperson for the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN).

The latter explained that the number of people on the picket lines remains difficult to assess, because it can change according to the usual shifts of the employees.

IKEA customers may have to wait as no employees are on duty. "If a customer is served by someone inside, it's an executive," Soumis said.

Jobs and wages

While the Swedish multinational is trying to use more and more subcontractors, the union is fighting to preserve the jobs of its members.

The question of wages is also an important part of the negotiations which have been going on since March.

Union members are asking for a pay rise.

Currently, a new employee earns $15.60 an hour while union members are asking for a minimum hourly rate of $16.90.

- With information from Julie Côté, QMI Agency