Take part in the warning strikes Volkswagen Parallel to the fourth round of collective bargaining, according to the IG Metall almost 103,000 employees involved. The union said on Tuesday that a total of 102,600 employees had stopped work at nine VW locations and subsidiaries nationwide from the morning shift on Monday to the night shift.
The VW Group, on the other hand, reported only 55,000 strikers. That was slightly less than the previous week, when VW counted almost 57,500 strikers. According to its own information, the company must transmit the number of warning strikers to the respective employment agencies.
IG Metall spoke of a “historic moment” that it would have “gladly renounced”. Negotiator Thorsten Gröger explained: “None of us wants a conflict with the company, but the unprecedented approach of terminating our collective agreements by Volkswagen makes this unavoidable.” The fourth round of collective bargaining was more constructive than the previous talks – “but that is not allowed “We hide the fact that there are still a number of differences between us and the company.”
Still “a number of differences” after the fourth round
After a slump in profits, Volkswagen has announced tough austerity measures with job cuts and location closures. Significant wage cuts are also under discussion. The company points to costs at the production site that are too high compared to international standards Germany. They would have to decrease in order for VW to remain competitive. The union and the works council do not want to accept site closures and redundancies for operational reasons.
The peace obligation at the car manufacturer expired at the end of November. Since then, warning strikes have been possible. The exception is the factory in Osnabrück, where the company collective agreement does not apply, but rather the collective agreement of the metal and electrical industry. At Volkswagen, the company collective agreement being negotiated applies to around 120,000 employees.
Prime Minister calls for agreement before Christmas
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (65; SPD) pushed on Tuesday for an end to collective bargaining at Volkswagen before Christmas. The conflict was getting on the nerves of many citizens in Lower Saxony, said the politician in the state parliament in Hanover. It is unreasonable to drag this situation over the holidays into the new year. “I urge everyone involved to make intensive use of the remaining days for this.” The discussion over the past few months has damaged the company.
The state government’s positions remain unchanged. First: Volkswagen must be competitive and therefore reduce its costs. Second: “We reject factory closures and push for alternative solutions,” said Weil. Thirdly, dismissals for operational reasons must be avoided in order to maintain social peace. The state of Lower Saxony holds 20 percent of the voting rights in the VW Group. Prime Minister Weil and his deputy Julia Willie Hamburg (Greens; 38) sit on the state’s supervisory board.