Over 4,000 VW employees gave the company’s management a loud welcome at the VW Arena. But once again, there was no offer from management—even in the second round of collective bargaining at Volkswagen (VW operates under its own in-house collective bargaining agreement).
Yet VW is doing exceptionally well financially. The VW Group reported a profit of 10.6 billion euros after taxes for the first half of 2022 alone. Nevertheless, the company ignored IG Metall’s demand for an 8 percent pay increase.
In addition, VW managers also want to cut the number of apprentices—even though IG Metall and VW agreed to a collective bargaining agreement just last year that guarantees at least 1,400 apprenticeship positions through 2025.
The negotiations ended after two hours.
“That’s just brazen”
“Despite excellent company and group figures, Volkswagen is letting its employees down—who, like all workers, are losing real income due to rising living costs—and refuses to make an offer,” criticizes IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger.
“But what really was the last straw was that the employer side came up with a demand of their own: reducing our apprenticeship positions. That’s just brazen,” says VW General Works Council Chair Daniela Cavallo angrily. “We resolved this issue for the long term in the previous round of in-house collective bargaining, and there is absolutely no justification today for why we should reopen this issue.”
Warning strikes possible starting December 1
IG Metall and VW will meet on November 22 for a third round of negotiations.
The no-strike clause in the VW in-house collective bargaining agreement expires on November 30, 2022. Warning strikes at VW will be possible starting December 1.
“By the second day of negotiations at the latest, it’s now clear: Volkswagen doesn’t really want to budge at all and has no genuine interest in us finally making progress together,” criticizes General Works Council Chair Daniela Cavallo. “If the employer side isn’t finally willing to negotiate seriously toward a goal during the third round on November 22, we’ll have to take a different approach.”
“Already today, more than 4,000 colleagues gathered in front of the VW Arena to emphasize their legitimate interests,” clarifies IG Metall chief negotiator Thorsten Gröger. “In the metal and electrical industries, we’re currently seeing that workers are determined to stand up for their legitimate interests. There’s no doubt that the Volkswagen workforce is equally prepared to do so!”
IG Metall Demands 8 Percent
IG Metall’s demands for the 2022 VW collective bargaining round are as follows:
- An 8 percent increase in wages and apprenticeship stipends, effective across the pay scale
- An extension of the collective bargaining agreement on partial retirement
- Improvements to collectively bargained time off: more days off—8 instead of the previous 6—through the conversion of the collectively bargained supplementary allowance (T-ZUV) for all IG Metall members
- Coverage of semester fees for all dual-track students through direct payment to the universities
The negotiations on the in-house collective bargaining agreement at VW affect approximately 125,000 employees at Volkswagen AG’s six West German locations (Braunschweig, Emden, Hanover, Kassel, Salzgitter, Wolfsburg) as well as at its subsidiaries Financial Services, Real Estate, and dx.one GmbH.
For the first time, the in-house collective bargaining negotiations at VW also include the Saxon VW plants in Chemnitz, Dresden, and Zwickau. The collective bargaining agreement will be adopted by VW Sachsen GmbH. This is ensured by a transitional collective bargaining agreement that the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony regional leadership concluded with VW Sachsen. The IG Metall bargaining committee for VW Sachsen GmbH has adopted the same demands.
Further news and background on the 2022 VW collective bargaining round
