In the struggle over the new savings plans at the German car manufacturer Volkswagen, the company and the union met for the first time yesterday in Hanover for negotiations. Their positions are far apart.
While VW is pushing for savings in personnel costs, IG Metall wants to prevent cuts. The wage negotiations, originally planned for the end of October, were brought forward after VW tightened its austerity measures at the beginning of the month.
Seven percent demanded
Management has confirmed its savings targets at the start. “We must restructure our company together. The situation is serious,” said VW negotiator Arne Meiswinkel, the head of human resources at the core Volkswagen brand, before the start of the wage negotiations in Hanover. “The task now is to find viable solutions.”
Instead of just wages, negotiations are also to be held on the job security that VW has terminated. IG Metall strictly rejects redundancies and plant closures and is demanding a seven percent pay increase for employees. It is also demanding job security for the approximately 120,000 employees beyond 2030. The union is now also threatening strikes from December.
“Heat it properly”
The chief negotiator of IG Metall, Thorsten Gröger, said that if necessary, tens of thousands of VW employees would be standing outside the factory gates and on the streets from December 1st. “Winter is coming – and then, if necessary, we will really give the board a hard time,” said the union representative. The conflict with VW has only just begun.
“We are not interested in talking about plant closures and mass layoffs,” said Gröger. Works council chairwoman Daniela Cavallo, who is also at the negotiating table for IG Metall, had previously described both as clear red lines.
Meiswinkel warned: “International competition is threatening to overtake us. That is why we need to act now.” The first round of negotiations is about getting a common picture of the current situation. Far fewer cars are rolling off the production line in VW factories than a few years ago.
