It was without warning that the management of the German steel giant, ThyssenKrupp (TK) announced, on April 23, a restructuring program well beyond the program accepted by the staff representatives on March 27. The new program removes the decentralized structure, reduces unions' power and cuts more jobs than anticipated. Unions say the management broke its promise and want to block the adoption of new programs during the next supervisory board meeting on May 13, 2009. (Ref. 090491)
“The consensus was broken. Workers’ rights are going to be badly limited” declared Thomas Schlenz, president of ThyssenKrupp AG’s central works council after the board meeting on April 23. Furious, the first staff representative had just learned that the management decided to ignore the restructuring program adopted on March 27, 2009 with the consent of the staff representatives. Instead, Ekkehard Schultz, TK’s CEO, proposed a much more radical plan.
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