IG Metall: Tesla holds back its workers on a large scale

The IG Metall sounds the alarm: Tesla doubts a large scale on a large scale and refuses to continue paying wages in the event of illness, according to the union. “With this unacceptable approach, the company keeps doing colleagues into financial hardship,” reports IG Metall district manager Dirk Schulze.

For a long time, the management of the Tesla plant Grünheide in Brandenburg has been complaining about what they believe too high. In autumn, Tesla then visited unannounced home visits to sick employees to convict Blaumacher. In the meantime, the company has apparently tightened the measures. The star asked Tesla to comment on the allegations, but has not received an answer.

According to its own statements, the union observes a pattern in Grünheide: In the first step, a sick leave is questioned. The employee is asked to reveal the diagnosis, and even to give his doctor from confidentiality. Next, wages will be withheld, even the statutory seizure limits would be ignored. It happens that not a single euro will be transferred.

Finally, the employees explain that the first payments during the illness were too much that they have “debt”. Then follow an offer: If you sign a termination agreement, i.e. leave the company, then you will be rid of your “debts”.

IG Metall also reports that this “offer”, the employees would be under pressure. There is no contemplative time that the employee should sign immediately.

“In almost all cases, the supposed overpayments are nothing but baseless claims,” ​​explains district manager Schulze. In 2024 alone, almost half a million euros were legally fought by Tesla. “Money that the employees have earned and that would otherwise have landed in the pocket of the richest person in the world.” At Tesla in Grünheide, IG Metall now gives legal assistance over twenty times as usual.

The starting point of the conflict was apparently a particularly high sick leave in August 2024. At a works meeting in September, the HR of the work of a sick leave in August spoke of 17 percent. In September it was 10 to 11 percent. Thereupon Tesla had apparently started making home visits to the sick on a large scale.

Of course, the question arises as to why sick leave at Tesla is high. From the union’s point of view, the behavior of Tesla is not only “highly dubious and inhuman, but also counterproductive”. Many Tesla employees complain about poor working conditions, this was the result of a survey by IG Metall among its members in the company, in which 1200 workers took part-about a tenth of the workforce.

Four out of five respondents had explained that they often or very often felt overloaded. Only one tenth affirmed the question of whether he believed that he could endure the current work situation up to retirement. Nine out of ten respondents stated that they suffered from physical complaints such as head, neck, joint or back pain.