Germany: IG-Metall threatens with warning strikes at Volkswagen if collective bargaining fails again

“In the middle of a crisis, Volkswagen is gaining market shares in Germany and western Europe. This is due to the amazing development of our products and to the equally amazing effort of Volkswagen’s employees. Employees are therefore right to think that, for quality work, they deserve decent pay” said Hartmut Meine, IG-Metall negotiator, after the third negotiation round failed on September 17. The representative for the IG-Metall in Lower-Saxony, where Volkswagen’s headquarters are located, sharply criticized the maneuvers of VW’s management. Holding out, at first, the prospects of drawing upon all the provisions of the agreement signed in late 2008 in metalworking (see our dispatch No. 080888), the management finally let several weeks go by before revealing its intentions, which are very far from union claims. Initially, the IG-Metall asked for a minimum 4.2% increase divided in two over 18 months, a single €510 bonus, the renewal of the agreement on part-time early retirement and a guarantee on apprenticeship places. As for the management, it would like the increase to have a variable part based on the group’s result and divided over more than 18 months. Finally, it accepts to renew the agreement on early retirement provided that employees’ contributions are increased. About apprenticeship, Jochen Schum, negotiator for the management, said he was ready to meet the IG-Metall’s claims for an agreement for 2010 and 2011, maintaining apprenticeship places at 1,250 every year and the guarantee of a permanent contract after the three years of apprenticeship.