Auto industry
VW and IG Metall continue to struggle to reach a collective agreement
VW and IG Metall are trying to reach a solution to the collective bargaining dispute with a marathon meeting. But even after two days, the positions are still far apart.
There is still no solution to the collective bargaining dispute at Volkswagen. Even after almost two days of marathon negotiations, the positions are still far apart, participants reported on Tuesday afternoon. It is completely unclear whether an agreement will be reached. A failure of the talks cannot be ruled out either.
Both sides spoke of difficult and lengthy talks that could probably last until late into the night. On Monday, representatives from VW and IG Metall negotiated for 13 hours until shortly after midnight and then continued the talks on Tuesday morning.
Around 70 company and union representatives have stayed in a hotel in Hanover for the negotiations. Negotiations sometimes take place in large groups, sometimes in small working groups. Both sides did not provide any information about the content of the confidential discussions.
Due to the group’s difficult situation, Volkswagen is demanding a further ten percent pay cut from its employees and also wants to cancel various bonuses and allowances. Plant closures and redundancies for operational reasons are also still on the cards. VW also wants to take on fewer trainees and reduce the pay of temporary workers, who previously received a supplement at VW, to the normal level of temporary work.
IG Metall, on the other hand, demands the preservation of all locations and an employment guarantee for the approximately 130,000 employees. She rejects permanent cuts in monthly wages. At the start of the negotiations, Gröger reiterated that these were the “red lines” that should not be crossed. VW rejected an offer from IG Metall to initially forego paying a wage increase as insufficient.
Agreement before Christmas as a goal
Both sides had previously expressed the desire to reach an agreement before Christmas. Two days were set aside for what was probably the last round of negotiations before Christmas – with the option of an extension.
“We can’t let any more time pass,” said VW negotiator Arne Meiswinkel at the start of what is now the fifth round of collective bargaining. Works council boss Daniela Cavallo explained: “We don’t want to go on Christmas vacation with this uncertainty, with the fear of whether there will be redundancies here for operational reasons or whether there will be site closures.”
Group board discusses collective bargaining dispute
The tough struggle with IG Metall was also a topic on the company’s board of directors on Tuesday. VW negotiator Meiswinkel had to leave the meeting in Hanover for several hours and report in Wolfsburg, participants reported. CEO Oliver Blume defended the tough austerity measures at the works meeting at the beginning of December – and received “boos” from the workforce.
On Monday, brand boss Thomas Schäfer and corporate human resources director Gunnar Kilian appeared in person at the venue for the first time, participants reported. So far, neither of them had taken part in the collective bargaining negotiations that have been ongoing since September. Schäfer recently explained in an interview that, given the existing overcapacity, there would probably be no way around plant closures.
This time no warning strikes
Unlike the previous collective bargaining a week ago, this time there were no work stoppages at VW. IG Metall has already hit the car company with widespread warning strikes twice since the beginning of December, most recently parallel to the fourth round of collective bargaining a week ago. According to the union, around 100,000 employees at nine locations took part both times.
If there is no rapprochement again at the end of the marathon negotiations, the union is already threatening to expand the industrial action. There is a risk of massive escalation in 2025, said Gröger. “Then IG Metall’s escalation planning is in place.”
dpa
Source: Stern
