In the electric car factory of Tesla In Grünheide near Berlin, employees elected a new works council. The choice in the only European car factory Elon Musk ended on Wednesday and began on Monday.
As the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony announced late on Wednesday evening that their union members received around 39.4 percent of the votes with their List 2 after the first count. According to the information, they will be the largest group in the future works council, with probably 16 of the total 39 members.
According to IG Metall, nine lists with 234 candidates took part in the election. Tesla and the union had reported great interest in the election with queues.
While the first works council election in 2022 took place before the factory opened, around 12,500 people now work in the factory. IG Metall hopes to increase its influence. She demands better working conditions and commitment to a collective agreement. Tesla rejects a collective agreement and sees many of the union’s demands, such as occupational safety and better conditions for temporary workers, already being implemented.
The previous works council chairwoman Michaela Schmitz ran again. Schulze had accused the previous works council of not being completely on the side of the workforce. Schmitz rejected this and, for example, pointed out salary increases of up to 18 percent without a collective agreement. According to factory manager André Thierig, Tesla wants to offer annual wage changes.
Environmental activists have been protesting in the forest near the factory since the end of February against Tesla’s planned expansion of the site to include a freight station. For this to happen, the forest would have to be cleared. After a court decision, the protest camp with tree houses can initially remain in place.