Framework agreement between IKEA and the IFBWW 2001

The Swedish furniture company IKEA and IFBWW signed an agreement on the promotion of workers rights at IKEA wood suppliers in May 1998. IKEA has now developed its own Code of Conduct for their suppliers.

A revision of the old IKEA/IFBWW agreement for wood suppliers has been done to include reference to this new company Code of Conduct, "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products".

Follow up and co-operation between IKEA and IFBWW on the implementation is continuing in different countries and regions and on health and safety and forestry.

The full text of the agreement and its attachment reads as follows:

The IKEA Group is one of the world's leading home furnishing companies, with procurement in some fifty countries and retailing in presently twenty-two countries. The IKEA Group is faced everyday with cultural differences and diverse economic and social conditions.

The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) is an international trade union organisation organising building, wood and forestry workers world wide. IFBWW's primary task is to promote and protect worker's rights in the aforementioned industries.

Both parties appreciate that the agreement signed in May 1998 between IKEA and IFBWW had the purpose of achieving certain minimum standards based on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (eight core conventions). Both parties note that IKEA's wood suppliers' employment terms and conditions have been further expressed and developed into the "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products", attached hereto as Annex 1. "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products" includes provisions mainly based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (eight core conventions), 1998, and the Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development, 1992.

IKEA wants to influence and support their suppliers to achieve the requirements stated in "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products". A contract based on "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products" has been introduced world-wide and is being implemented in relation to all suppliers of IKEA products. IKEA has established a compliance organisation with the task to support and monitor the compliance work.

Both IKEA and IFBWW appreciate the value of a continued co-operation and henceforth see it beneficial to have a joint group that will meet twice per year, one meeting being organised by IKEA and the other by IFBWW. IKEA will inform IFBWW of the progress of the implementation of "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products" for advice and comments from the group. Should the IFBWW become aware of any contravention of "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products", IFBWW will report this to the group which will review the matter and propose appropriate measures. Furthermore, the parties will at such meetings exchange general information and experiences within the field of subjects covered by the "The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products".

This Agreement fully replaces the agreement signed in May 1998.

Geneva, 19 December 2001

International Federation of Building and Wood Workers Anita Normark