The fifth day of negotiations has begun in VW’s collective bargaining round. According to participants, the talks between the German car manufacturer and the IG Metall union lasted until midnight on Thursday. It was initially unclear when negotiations in Hannover would continue.
Criticism came from IG Metall on Thursday evening: “The negotiation process is especially problematic in the internal processes on the employer side.” In principle, both parties are on a constructive path and agree on a number of points. “But there is still disagreement on some key issues where negotiations could still fail.”
Desire for agreement before Christmas
There is talk of tough negotiations between the participants. In total, the conversations lasted more than 64 hours. According to the association, this is the longest collective labor agreement negotiation round ever at Volkswagen. A possible conclusion is not expected until today at the earliest. A failure of the talks cannot be ruled out.
Since Monday, representatives of Volkswagen and IG Metall have been struggling to find a solution to the dispute over pay cuts, factory closures and layoffs. Both sides had previously expressed their desire to reach an agreement before Christmas. About 70 company and union representatives have stayed in a hotel in Hanover for what is now the fifth round of collective bargaining.
Source: Krone
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