Wage dispute at VW

Battle at VW continues: second round of warning strikes

The fourth round of negotiations in the wage dispute at the crisis-ridden car manufacturer Volkswagen has also failed to produce a solution.(Bild: APA/dpa/Sina Schuldt)

The fourth round of negotiations in the wage dispute at the crisis-ridden car manufacturer Volkswagen has also failed to produce a solution. Both sides spoke of a constructive atmosphere on Monday evening, but there was still no agreement in the dispute over wage cuts.

This was announced by the negotiators from VW and IG Metall after more than six hours of negotiations. The wage talks are to continue next week on Monday and Tuesday (December 16 and 17).

Accompanied by a widespread warning strike, both sides met in Wolfsburg for their fourth round of collective bargaining. IG Metall had called on VW in advance to abandon its maximum demands and allow a compromise solution.

Group demands wage cuts
The Volkswagen Group is demanding a ten percent wage cut from its employees due to the difficult situation of the Group and sales difficulties. Plant closures and compulsory redundancies are also on the cards. IG Metall, on the other hand, wants all sites to be retained and a job guarantee for the approximately 130,000 employees. The union rejects wage cuts.

VW top management reaffirms intention to cut costs
VW top management had previously reaffirmed its intention to cut costs. "We still need cost reductions that can be implemented in the short term and are sustainable," said VW chief negotiator Arne Meiswinkel, Chief Human Resources Officer of the core Volkswagen brand, before the start of the round of negotiations in Hanover on Monday. According to agency reports, there was harsh headwind from the employee side.

Although VW welcomed the cost reduction concept presented by the union in November, Meiswinkel said, "even after intensive analysis of this counter-proposal, we have determined that it is not yet sufficient for a sustainable solution. That's why we have to find further potential today."

Trade unionist "furious and stunned"
Meanwhile, Christiane Benner, Chairwoman of the IG Metall trade union, has called on VW management to abandon its strict austerity policy. She was "furious and stunned by the actions" of the Board of Management, she said in front of tens of thousands of participants at a protest rally at the main plant in Wolfsburg, according to the speech transcript. "Instead of intelligent solutions, they are offering cutbacks and job losses."

"The problems are glaring," explained Benner in her speech on the second warning strike at the German car giant. But these problems cannot be solved with plant closures, redundancies and wage cuts. It is not the employees who are to blame for the crisis, but the many wrong decisions made by management.

According to the dpa news agency, IG Metall district manager Thorsten Gröger said that if the Board of Management refuses to find a solution, the "solidarity of the workforce at Volkswagen will be taken into the new year". "Then there will only be one answer to the cost-cutting hammer in 2025: the strike hammer!"

Employees continue to increase the pressure.(Bild: AFP)

Industrial action could escalate
IG Metall had offered not to pay out a possible wage increase for the time being, but to pay it into a future fund. It held out the prospect of a cost reduction of 1.5 billion euros for the Group. In return, VW should refrain from plant closures and compulsory redundancies.

IG Metall wants to prevent both pay cuts and plant closures and is demanding the preservation of all sites and a job guarantee for the approximately 130,000 employees. The union is threatening to extend the industrial action if no agreement is reached in the collective bargaining round on Monday.