Employees spied on: the Ikea France trial opened in Versailles
This Monday, the French subsidiary of the Swedish furniture giant appears before the criminal court of Versailles.
The company is accused of having set up an illegal surveillance system for employees, in particular with the help of the police.
The subsidiary incurs a fine of up to 3.75 million euros.
AFP
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3 min
Did the Ikea group spy on its employees?
This Monday, March 22, the trial of the French subsidiary of the Swedish furniture giant opened before the Criminal Court of Versailles.
The company is accused of having set up an illegal surveillance system for employees, in particular with the help of the police.
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The case, the facts of which took place 9 years ago, is of considerable magnitude.
It risks shaking the image of the famous Swedish company accused of espionage.
The investigation indeed revealed the existence of a mass surveillance system intended to search the past of employees and candidates for employment throughout France.
During a decade, hundreds, perhaps thousands of profiles are peeled, union representatives are also placed under surveillance.
At the time, the furniture giant called on private investigation companies who had to submit a detailed report on each of the people concerned.
These reports contain confidential data such as the criminal records of certain employees obtained from the system for processing observed offenses (STIC), the police file which identifies the perpetrators and victims of offenses.
Four police officers are also implicated for having provided this information to private companies.
A dozen of the most senior officials of the French subsidiary of Ikea are also implicated, including a financial director, responsible for risk management, but above all two former CEOs.
All perfectly aware of the existence of this system.
They face up to ten years in prison.
Compensate employees who have lost their jobs
Roger Pouilly, CGT union representative from Ikea hopes to have answers thanks to this trial: “
We would like to know everything that has been done, how many people have been spied on, to what extent and to what end.
Even if we have our little idea, we would like it to stand out.
We would also like the company to know that there are laws in France and that they must be respected.
"
The union delegate deplores the non-compliance with company laws.
“
The latest example concerns the decrees that came out at the end of January on sanitary measures and in particular the prohibition to make withdrawals of orders that Ikea does not respect,
underlines Roger Pouilly.
A conviction would allow the company to finally understand that it is necessary to respect French laws, but also to respect employees.
"
The union is waiting for sanctions to be imposed and damages paid for those who have lost their jobs.
“
Because one of the objectives was to be able to eliminate certain employees.
So the company should have a strong enough condemnation, enough for it to draw consequences,
”said Roger Pouilly.
The subsidiary is being sued as a legal person and incurs a fine of up to 3.75 million euros.
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To read also: The world according to Ikea
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