The most recent negotiations have not produced a compromise either. Now stand by Volkswagen the signs for strike. With the end of the peace obligation in the collective bargaining dispute between VW and the IG Metall The union has announced warning strikes in “all plants”. According to IG Metall, around 300 employees rang in the end of the peace phase in Wolfsburg on Saturday evening – with the symbolic ringing of bells.
In view of statements from the car manufacturer that Plant closures and waves of layoffs following collective bargaining are still not ruled out
, warning strikes were the “logical consequence,” the union said.
“Various board members have repeatedly stated in the past few weeks that they continue to stick to scenarios that also include plant closures,” explained IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger. “We showed ourselves willing to compromise at the negotiating table, but our outstretched hand was rejected,” he added. “Now there are warning strikes that the company cannot ignore. Production will be temporarily on hold in all plants in the near future.”
The so-called peace obligation at the ailing car manufacturer Volkswagen expired on Sunday night. The collective bargaining committee of IG Metall had already voted unanimously to support its demands with strikes in the current collective bargaining round.
Negotiations will continue in about a week
The third round of collective bargaining at VW ended last Thursday without any results. It continues on December 9th. The general works council and IG Metall are demanding significant salary increases, which, however, should not be paid out. A fund to finance reductions in working hours could be financed. In return, the employee representatives want guarantees for employment and locations.
The car company’s board of directors is calling, among other things, for a wage cut of ten percent for the approximately 120,000 employees at the Wolfsburg, Braunschweig, Hanover, Salzgitter, Emden and Kassel locations as well as at three subsidiaries – and is not ruling out plant closures.
VW CFO Arno Antlitz recently justified this, among other things, with massive overcapacity: Two million fewer vehicles are currently being sold on the European market than before the pandemic, which means for VW that there is a shortage of 500,000 cars every year.