Volkswagen Works Council: Management Plans to Freeze Pay for 660,000 Staff Until 2030; Union Says Pay Is Decided at the Negotiating Table
Volkswagen plans to freeze salaries for its 660,000 staff worldwide until 2030, the group's works council said on Monday, confirming an earlier report by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Reuters reported on October 19.
The Global Works Council said it had received internal information about the executive board's plans. Volkswagen declined to comment on "speculation"; a spokesperson added that a new round of talks later this week would be the forum for any proposals on labour costs. The works council called the management's approach "absurd" and said it expected strong resistance to what is described as the plan's "rather unrealistic" implementation. "At Volkswagen, pay development is decided at the negotiating table, not by decree from the executive boardroom," a spokesperson for Germany's trade union IG Metall said.
Relations between Volkswagen and its labour representatives have deteriorated in recent months, as CEO Oliver Blume pushes ahead with the most radical restructuring in the German auto group's history. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported the news earlier on Monday, citing internal documents; the absence of pay rises could mean a loss of income of around 10% for those affected, due to inflation, the paper said. The paper's report said the new global management guidelines, effective from the fourth quarter, also include cuts to variable pay, special payments, benefits, and jobs. (GSM, via Reuters)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：大众汽车Wolfsburg工厂。该集团劳资委员会称，管理层拟把全球66万名员工的薪资冻结至2030年。（供稿图）
