“This is clear proof of the freedom of association and collective bargaining that exists inside Volkswagen México”, said Oscar de la Vega, legal representative of the company, after pointing out that 4,195 of the workers were in favor, versus 2,475 who were not in agreement, “the decision of the workers in regard to the negotiations conducted by the union leader is clear, exactly as mandated by the labor reform.”
The only change that was added to the review of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is in force for the next two years, is that the benefits of re-classification will start as of August 18.
It is worth remembering that the proposal presented by the company, and from which the preliminary agreement arose, provided for a global increase of 10.5%; from which 7% corresponds directly to salary and 3.5% in benefits; this, however, was rejected by the workers in the first voting process and it was in a second voting process, conducted on September 13 when they decided to accept the proposal.
In this regard, Hugo Tlalpan, general secretary of SITIAVW, explained that, with the new proposal, labor stability is guaranteed for 321 workers who will have contracts for an indefinite period of time and labor stability is guaranteed; he announced that important changes are coming due to the area of electromobility.
Complicated future
Prior to the second voting process, VW’s CEO, Oliver Blume, spoke about the complex future that the German company is facing in Europe, which could have an impact on labor safety plans that have been in place for 30 years, to which the closure of plants in Germany was added.
In this sense, VW México explained that in face of a challenging context for the Group, and particularly for the Volkswagen Brand, as has been made public in the last few days, “maintaining the agreement reached with the union representation on August 17 entails a very significant financial effort for the company. Even in the midst of this situation, Volkswagen de México has approved this agreement and has modified its premises of application for the benefit of the worker base.”
“As we announced at the time, the agreement reached between the Company´s committees and the representatives of the workers not only protects the purchasing power of the families, but places Volkswagen among the top places in regard to compensation and benefit levels, now acquiring a double value in light of the situation that our Brand and our parent company are going through”, the company stated.
