Volkswagen workers protest against layoffs and austerity plans
Kyiv • UNN
Volkswagen employees are protesting against austerity plans and layoffs. The union threatens to strike on December 1 if no agreement is reached on a collective bargaining agreement.
Volkswagen's trade union and works council are stepping up pressure with a rally of employees. Employee representatives threaten to strike this year if a collective bargaining agreement is not reached soon.
Writes UNN with reference to Norddeutscher Rundfunk.
Thousands of Volkswagen employees are protesting against the austerity plans recently announced by the company. In addition, employees are expressing dissatisfaction with the third round of collective bargaining with VW management.
Thorsten Greger, a negotiator for IG Metall (a trade union representing workers in various industries in Germany), called it a “disgrace” that the highest-paid members of the board of directors in the country have not yet demonstrated any way to overcome the crisis without closing down plants or mass layoffs. This morning, thousands of employees from various VW plants gathered in front of the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg. They expressed their discontent with drums, whistles and loud horns.
“This is just a premonition of what will happen in December if the company does not take our specific proposed solutions seriously,” Daniela Cavallo, head of the production council, said in a press statement this morning.
For reference
The union submitted a proposal that would save 1.5 billion euros in labor costs.
The third round of negotiations on the required savings at Volkswagen begins today.
Will there be a strike soon?
It is considered unlikely that the two sides will agree on a collective bargaining agreement in this round of negotiations. This means that VW is threatening strikes again for the first time since 2018: IG Metall spokesman Greger said that there would be no more chances of reaching an agreement in November. The peace agreement expires on November 30, so strikes are theoretically possible from December 1.
