Duty of peace over

VW hammer: warning strikes at all plants on Monday!

In Zwickau, VW employees lit Bengal fires to symbolically herald the end of the peace obligation.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

It was already on the cards, now it's getting serious: the IG Metall trade union is calling for warning strikes at Europe's largest car manufacturer Volkswagen on Monday. Work is to come to a standstill at all plants in Germany. The peace obligation, during which strikes are not permitted, expired on Sunday night. 

"Production will be temporarily on hold at all plants in the near future," announced IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Gröger (55) at the weekend in Wolfsburg. IG Metall had previously only announced that it would call for temporary work stoppages at all sites from the beginning of December. 

IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Gröge(Bild: AFP)

With a symbolic ringing of bells, IG Metall demonstratively marked the end of the peace obligation on Sunday night on the first Advent, thus setting the course for industrial action.

(Bild: AFP)

VW: Respecting employees' right to strike
"Volkswagen respects the right of employees to take part in a warning strike. That is why the company has already taken specific measures in advance to ensure emergency supplies," emphasized a VW Group spokesperson. He added: "We want to minimize the impact of the warning strike on our customers, our partners and our industrial plants as much as possible."

(Bild: APA/dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd)

The company continues to focus on constructive dialog with the employee side in order to achieve a sustainable and jointly supported solution. Both sides will meet for their next round of collective bargaining on December 9.

What the current conflict is about
The conflict is about the pay of around 120,000 employees at Volkswagen AG plants, where a separate company wage agreement applies. VW has so far rejected any increase and is instead demanding a ten percent pay cut due to the Group's difficult situation. Plant closures and compulsory redundancies are also on the cards. According to the works council, at least three plants and tens of thousands of jobs are under threat.