HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - There is still no solution to the wage dispute at Volkswagen. Even after almost two days of marathon negotiations, the positions are still far apart, participants reported on Tuesday afternoon. Whether an agreement can still be reached is completely open. Failure of the talks is also not ruled out.
Both sides spoke of difficult and protracted talks, which could again go late into the night. On Monday, the representatives of VW and IG Metall had negotiated for 13 hours until shortly after midnight and then continued the talks on Tuesday morning.
Around 70 representatives from the company and the union have taken up residence in a hotel in Hanover for the negotiations. Negotiations are sometimes held in large groups, sometimes in small working groups. Neither side provided any information on the content of the confidential talks.
VW wants to cut wages
Due to the Group's difficult situation, Volkswagen continues to demand a ten percent pay cut from its employees and also wants to cut various bonuses and allowances. Plant closures and compulsory redundancies are also still on the table. In addition, VW wants to take on fewer trainees and reduce the pay of temporary workers, who previously received a supplement at VW, to the normal level of temporary work.
IG Metall, on the other hand, is demanding the retention of all sites and an employment guarantee for the approximately 130,000 employees. It rejects permanent cuts in monthly pay. These are the "red lines" that must not be crossed, Groger reiterated at the start of the negotiations. VW had rejected an offer by IG Metall to waive the payment of a wage increase for the time being as insufficient.
Aiming for an agreement before Christmas
Both sides had previously expressed their desire to reach an agreement before Christmas. Two days have therefore been set aside for what will probably be the last round of negotiations before Christmas - with the option of an extension.
"We must not let any more time pass," said VW chief negotiator Arne Meiswinkel at the start of what is now the fifth round of collective bargaining. Head of the Works Council Daniela Cavallo explained: "We don't want to go into the Christmas vacations with this uncertainty, with the fear of whether there will be compulsory redundancies here, whether there will be site closures."
Group Management Board discusses wage dispute
The tough struggle with IG Metall was also discussed by the Group Board of Management on Tuesday. VW chief negotiator Meiswinkel had to leave the meeting in Hanover for several hours to report back in Wolfsburg, participants reported. Group CEO Oliver Blume had only defended the tough austerity measures at the works meeting at the beginning of December - and was met with shouts of "boo" from the workforce.
On Monday, brand boss Thomas Schäfer and Group HR Director Gunnar Kilian appeared in person at the negotiating venue for the first time, participants reported. Neither of them had previously taken part in the wage talks, which have been ongoing since September. Schäfer had recently stated in an interview that, in view of the existing overcapacity, there would probably be no way around plant closures.
No warning strikes this time
In contrast to the previous wage negotiations a week ago, there were no work stoppages at VW this time. Since the beginning of December, the IG Metall union had already twice covered the car manufacturer with warning strikes, most recently in parallel with the fourth round of wage negotiations a week ago. According to the union, around 100,000 employees at nine locations took part both times.
If the marathon negotiations do not result in an agreement once again, the union is already threatening to extend the industrial action. Groger said that a massive escalation would then be imminent in 2025. "Then IG Metall's escalation plan will be in place."/fjo/DP/men
