Negotiation Results Reached for VW Better provisions for VW employees

The negotiating committees of IG Metall and Volkswagen have reached a collective bargaining agreement: It is a response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis and is intended to help secure the jobs of the approximately 120,000 employees of Volkswagen AG.

At the same time, the parties to the collective bargaining agreement have agreed on improvements to help employees balance their personal and professional lives. Thorsten Gröger, regional director and chief negotiator for IG Metall in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, emphasizes: “Time is becoming increasingly important in working life. We were able to secure progress here that can help in the current situation and have a lasting impact.”

Details of the agreed-upon provisions:

• In the future, Volkswagen employees will be entitled under the collective bargaining agreement to time off for the care of children up to the age of 12, instead of the previous age of 10. For child care and adult care, the number of leave periods allowed per family member in need of care or per child will increase from two to five. This entitlement can be exercised for five consecutive years. Leave periods taken in 2020 do not count toward this limit.
• For parents who are eligible for the new provisions of the Infection Protection Act and receive compensation of 67 percent, up to a maximum of 2,016 euros, for child care lasting up to 6 weeks, a supplementary payment has been agreed upon. The supplementary payment is staggered on a percentage basis, depending on the pay grade. A prerequisite is that the company’s existing leave options must be utilized first. The supplementary payment is subject to the condition that it is not offset against the government benefit.
• In addition, employees will be able to apply for a sabbatical in the future. Employees may take a leave of absence for up to six months. During this time, they will receive 75 percent of their gross pay. Any hours worked less than the standard schedule during the leave of absence must be made up upon returning to work at a rate of 25 percent of gross monthly pay. A two-year pilot phase will begin on January 1, 2021. Details such as the purpose of the leave or eligibility requirements will be governed by a comprehensive company agreement.

In-house collective bargaining round postponed by eight months

With this agreement, the collective bargaining parties are helping to guide both the company and all employees safely through this crisis. Regional Director Thorsten Gröger emphasizes: “The pandemic has rapidly changed what is important. Continuing a ‘normal’ round of collective bargaining was unthinkable. With this agreement, we are taking responsibility and can also make a positive difference in the process.”

Negotiations on a pay increase are being postponed by eight months. The current provisions will remain in effect until then. This means that, for the first time, Volkswagen AG’s collective bargaining agreements on pay can be terminated on December 31, 2020, in parallel with those of the metal and electrical industry.

Bernd Osterloh, Chairman of the General and Group Works Council at Volkswagen: “Given the circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis, this is a good agreement. Essentially, it’s a postponement of the actual decision on wages. Due to the pandemic, approximately 80,000 colleagues are on short-time work, and the company’s liquidity is a matter of survival. That’s why we’ve postponed the in-house collective bargaining round by eight months to a time when we can look ahead again and have predictability.”