Germany: Porsche and Volkswagen’s works councils bury the hatchet

Porsche and Volkswagen's WCs, which have been fighting for almost a year and a half over the representation of VW's employees within Porsche Automobil Holding SE apparently put an end to their quarrel (see our dispatch No. 080675). According to Porsche, the appeal hearing which should have started on December 19. 2008 at the labor tribunal of the Bade-Wurttemberg Land was postponed to enable the parties to find an out-of-court settlement. The crisis, which is already badly affects the car industry, apparently played a part in this unexpected turnover. (Ref. 081035)
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“Bernd Osterloh [editor’s note: chair of VW’s central WC] and I promised to reach an agreement in the interest of VW and Porsche. Because of the threatening crisis, we can’t afford to fight” Uwe Huck, former chair of Porsche’s WC, told the Reuters agency. According to Porsche, the two men are about to find a compromise thanks to the intervention of the IG Metall union, to which the two men belong. According to the Stuttgarter Zeitung daily, the guidelines of the compromise are already defined.

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