VW’s workers union ask for 4% raise
Volkswagen's Portuguese workers' union demands more rights, particularly asking for a 4% raise, a 25-day-long vacation period and the regularization of the 400 precarious employment contracts
Eco News had access to the workers’ demands notes, in which Palmela’s factory employees ask for a 4% raise in their salaries representing at minimum an increase of €36. As for the remuneration package they ask for the working hours payments to be doubled when working Saturdays and Sundays, given the continuous working demand faced by the unit.
Nowadays the workers enjoy 22 days of holidays, but henceforth demand the German company a minimum of 25 resting days a year.
Additionally, the union wants to see that performance-related bonuses (+/-€500) are updated and attributed as a recognition to the employees, proposing the 18 of January 2019, as the deadline for the bonuses to be awarded.
Until September 2019 the workers are also asking for fixed-term contracts to be reclassified and possibly turned to open-ended contracts. This policy is due to affect around 400 employees.
These proposals will be discussed next Thursday, during a plenary session scheduled between the board and the workers.
These demands come up as the production of vehicles at Volkswagen’s Portuguese plant in Palmela intensifies production, following up on the high demand for their new bestseller, T-Roc. The SUV has practically doubled production during the first semester of 2018, reaching a startling figure of 154 thousand vehicles manufactured at Autoeuropa.