After trying, in vain, to bargain with unions for extraordinary exceptions to the sector's collective agreements, Magna, the Austrian-canadian car part maker which employs 13,000 people in Austria (Magna Steyr) and 115,000 worldwide, is getting ready to reorganize its activity. According to the trade unions and the Austrian press, the company should outsource central services and R&D operations. In that case, the employees in the new company would be covered by more advantageous collective agreements than those signed in the metal industry - the recent renegotiation provides for a 3.4 percent wage increase in 2013. if Magna goes through with this, the GPA-djp private sector union announced that it would press charges, up to the European court of justice if necessary. For his part, the CEO of Magna Europe said that part of the production could be moved to eastern Europe. (Ref. 120657)
Ongoing outsourcing plans. While the European and Austrian managements haven’t said anything about their future plans to outsource part of their Austrian activities, there is barely any doubt judging from the furious reactions from union representatives and numerous leaks in the Austrian press. “In the Magna case, we’re ready to go to the European Court of Justice and make this a pilot procedure” threatened DPA-djp VP Karl Proyer. The Der Standard daily allegedly owns an internal...
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