Star mediator Vince Ready will be stepping in to possibly resolve another high-profile local dispute.
Ready is scheduled to mediate the longstanding impasse between IKEA Richmond workers and their employer, The Province reports.
The labour dispute at the popular Swedish DIY furniture and home decor store has been going on for 16 months now.
Most recently, a ruling determined IKEA had been trying to lure workers away from their union by posting information about available wage increases online.
The IKEA Richmond workers are striking over pay issues. Mediation in 2013 was unsuccessful in resolving the dispute. The store has remained opened, forcing shoppers to cross picket lines, and apparently the strike has affected sales.
Ready was lauded on social media as a negotiations “god” following the successful resolution of the months-long teachers’ strike. It is not clear when he is expected to sit down with the two sides of the IKEA labour dispute.
“It’s a significant development,” Teamsters local 213 representative Anita Dawson remarked regarding Ready’s involvement, according to The Province.
Ready’s online booking schedule indicates the mediator has next to no openings between now and May 2015.
UPDATE: Sept. 24, 2:30 p.m. Vince Ready has left talks between the two parties, and says the sides are too far apart at this time for mediation.
Featured image: IKEA sign/Shutterstock
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