This is what happens now

VW conflict: 60 hours of talks, no agreement

(Bild: APA/dpa/Rolf Vennenbernd)

The fifth day of negotiations has begun in the VW collective bargaining round. The talks between the German car manufacturer and the IG Metall trade union lasted until midnight on Thursday, according to participants. It was initially unclear when the negotiations in Hanover would continue.

IG Metall was still criticizing the negotiations on Thursday evening: "The negotiation process is particularly stuck in the internal processes of the employer side." In principle, both sides are on a constructive path and have reached agreement on a number of points. "But there is still disagreement on some key issues, which could still cause the negotiations to fail."

Desire for agreement before Christmas
Participants are talking about tough negotiations. In total, the talks have already lasted more than 64 hours. According to the union, this is the longest round of collective bargaining ever at Volkswagen. A possible agreement is not expected until today at the earliest. A failure of the talks is still not ruled out.

Since Monday, representatives of Volkswagen and IG Metall have been struggling to find a solution to the dispute over wage cuts, plant closures and redundancies. Both sides had previously expressed their desire to reach an agreement before Christmas. Around 70 representatives from the company and the union have taken up residence in a hotel in Hanover for what is now the fifth round of collective bargaining.