In Germany, the negotiations between PSA and IG Metall turn sour. The builder thought it could negotiate with the union a derogation to the branch agreement obliging to increase the salaries at Opel by 4.3% this year. But the powerful union does not hear it that way – at least for now. As it stands, PSA will have to apply the branch agreement. “IG Metall is dogmatic, plague an internal source. They endanger employees by asking PSA to absorb the losses, as in General Motors’ time. “
Faced with this situation, the French manufacturer decided, as a retaliatory measure, to freeze its investment project in Eisenach (Thuringia), where an electrified car was to be assembled from 2019. “The planned investment plan can not be implemented because of the blocking of the union IG Metall for the achievement of performance conditions that would ensure the future of the site in the long term, “says one at PSA.
In Spain, the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe, discussions had been successful and sites had secured new projects, in exchange for flexible work schedules and sometimes wage moderation. In Germany, IG Metall obviously does not seem ready to make such efforts.
Voluntary departure plan
“The negotiations continue with IG Metall so that the performance conditions are finally met, as has already been achieved with unions in other European countries, with industrial sites that are now focused on their action plans”, we specify to the management of PSA.
End of March, Opel announced the opening of a voluntary departure plan concerning all the trades and all the sites in Germany, each employee being able to reach a maximum of 275.000 euros. According to our information, the management proposes conditions to obtain departures as quickly as possible: minimum 20,000 euros or four months of gross wages for those who take the plan in the first two months of its opening.