Portugal: tough negotiations at VW Autoeuropa in Lisbon on the six-day week

Negotiations on the introduction of more working time flexibility to maintain employment at Autoeuropa's factory around Lisbon resumed, on June 2, after a break at the end of May. The social partners cannot reach an agreement on the modalities to implement the six-day week. (Ref. 090608)
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Volkswagen’s assembly factory, located 30 kilometers away from Lisbon, is the largest firm in Portugal. It can produce 180,000 units a year, but production was cut to 90,000 a year in 2008, and may not exceed 60,000 in 2009. With the crisis, the management and the workers jointly agreed on a technical unemployment schedule to reduce production. Other measures, such as early holidays or compensatory leave or the non-renewal of fixed-term contracts, were taken to cope with the situation.

Six-day w

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