VOLKSWAGEN UNIONS CALL FOR SOLUTION – Unions have threatened strike action from 2025 if an agreement is not reached this year
Volkswagen’s works council chief said negotiations with management over cost cuts must find a solution which excludes plant closures or redundancies, as a last-ditch round of talks before Christmas gets underway.
A compromise must be struck which is good for both the workers and the company, the union said as the fifth round of talks was due to begin.
Unions have threatened strike action at an unprecedented scale from 2025 if an agreement is not reached this year.
“If we don’t reach an outcome within our red lines, I’m certain that workers will respond to the union’s calls for escalation,” Cavallo then told reporters.
Both sides are prepared for the talks to last several days, unless it becomes apparent on Monday that they are too far apart to come to an agreement this year, in which case negotiations will be paused until 2025.
More than 100,000 staff at nine plants across the country laid down tools last week in the largest strikes ever seen at the carmaker, protesting against management’s stance that wages must be cut and capacity downsized for the VW brand to stay competitive.
