After more than 16 hours of “intensive negotiations”, Volkswagen claims that it reached a collective bargaining agreement on the company’s collective bargaining agreement early on Wednesday morning. It was the third round of negotiations. “We have reached an agreement within the peace obligation in an exceptional macroeconomic situation, with which we ensure sustainable planning security and stability for both employees and companies,” said VW negotiator Arne Meiswinkel in the morning. A press release detailing the closing has been announced for 8:00 am.
According to the company, Volkswagen had previously submitted an offer. The chief negotiator for IG Metall, Thorsten Gröger, explained: “We expect the company to come up with a decent offer that is as close as possible to our requirements, so that we can have clarity for the employees as quickly as possible.”
The union had demanded a pay increase of eight percent for around 125,000 employees, an extension of the collective agreement on partial retirement, more days off for members of the union and the assumption of the semester fees for dual students at the company. The VW company tariff was negotiated for the core workforce at the Braunschweig, Emden, Hanover, Kassel, Salzgitter and Wolfsburg locations as well as some subsidiaries.
