In its collective labor agreement with IG Metall, Volkswagen secured an emergency clause against a further escalation of the crisis. The future collective labor agreement, which will be concluded shortly before Christmas, contains a scheme that makes it possible to reduce working hours to 28 hours in the event of bottlenecks – with only partial wage compensation.
The condition is that all other measures, such as reduction of overtime and shortening of working hours, have been exhausted in advance, according to the collective agreement available to the German news agency.
The weekly working time can be reduced to 28 hours
In the event of temporary labor problems, the weekly working hours for all employees can then be reduced by a maximum of seven hours, i.e. from the regular 35 to a maximum of 28 hours.
Pay cuts from the third hour
The first two hours of the reduction must be full wage compensation, and from the third hour onwards the wage is reduced proportionately. Up to three hours went unpaid. However, in business circles it was said that the scheme was only intended for an absolute emergency where the situation would deteriorate dramatically, which no one expected.
Four-day week as a role model
The scheme is reminiscent of the four-day working week, which VW used more than thirty years ago to prevent impending job losses. Even then, the company was in a deep crisis, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk. To prevent this, the then VW HR director Peter Hartz agreed with IG Metall at the end of 1993 to reduce working hours across the board. The regulation remained in force for more than twelve years.
35,000 fewer jobs by 2030
Shortly before Christmas, after a long struggle, the company and the union agreed on a restructuring program that would cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030. In return, VW has restored the previously ended job security and extended it until 2030. The planned job cuts should now take place without any layoffs for operational reasons. VW has approximately 130,000 employees at its plants in Lower Saxony, Hesse and Saxony.
Source: Krone
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