The 9,400-strong labour force at the massive Volkswagen plant in Bratislava are getting ready to go on strike alert over a lack of agreement on wage conditions that saw negotiations break down last week.
The trade unions have been going head to head with the management over wage conditions, and although still open to negotiations, they look 70% certain to call a strike, according to trade union leader Zoroslav Smolinsky, as cited by SITA newswire.
Volkswagen, which is not commenting on the dispute, wants to cut salaries by about 4%, while also reducing the work time. The unions, on the other hand, are hoping for a wage hike of around 6%.
I agree. This story is nothing new. Underpaid factory workers only have unemployment to look forward to. Time to start a new industry.
Sounds like the honeymoon is over. I read that almost all the car plants are looking to reduce working hours/production and are proposing the least painful way of achieving this. If the Unions and workers can’t see this and try to force the owners’ hands, there will be lay-offs or even plant closures.