Volkswagen, possible strikes of 500,000 workers in autumn

After the announcement about the need to close at least two plants and proceed with a series of mass redundancies in Germany in order to further reduce costs, the Volkswagen group could face several prolonged workers' strikes in the autumn. This is what IG Metall, the country's largest trade union, has 'threatened'. 'Job security is part of the basic consensus developed with the company specifically for times of crisis like this,' said Thorsten Gröger, IG Metall's chief negotiator for talks with Volkswagen, at a press conference yesterday. More than 500,000 workers could go on strike if the company does not engage in constructive talks, he explained.

The union said that no strike would take place before the end of November and that it still hoped to find a negotiated solution. While the union is sticking to an industry-wide demand for a 7 per cent increase, IG Metall boss Christiane Benner, speaking at the same event, said that moving to a four-day working week would be a possible concession that workers would consider.