Dragunov
08-19-2009, 12:20 AM
August 18,2009
MEXICO CITY – Union workers went on strike Tuesday at the Volkswagen plant in the central Mexican city of Puebla, which normally produces 1,520 units per day of the German automaker’s Bora, Variant, Jetta and Beetle models.
The union that represents 9,243 of the 12,908 employees at the Puebla complex declared the strike after an apparent breakdown in talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Company sources told Efe that while the union sought an 8.25 percent wage increase for 2010 plus additional benefits, VW offered a 1 percent raise and a one-time bonus of 5,500 pesos ($423).
Even before the walkout, VW forecast a 30 percent decline in production at Puebla this year.
Union chief Victor Jaime Cervantes told reporters the workers were prepared to prolong the strike as long as necessary.
He said the negotiations had taken place in an atmosphere of respect until Tuesday morning, when VW representatives “asked for a recess and didn’t come back,” a move he condemned as “rude.”
Cervantes also said that the union had already scaled back its demands and is now asking for a 3 percent wage increase.
Both Volkswagen and the union expressed willingness to continue talking.
“The strike benefits no one,” Cervantes said.
Mexico’s Labor Department summoned both sides to a conciliation process set to begin Thursday.
The department asked VW and the union to make “the maximum effort” to achieve “an accord that permits them to balance the legitimate interests of each one of the parties, in the context of an economic recession and, particularly, of great difficulty for the automotive industry.”
A source with VW said the company had sufficient inventory on hand “for a few days.”
Volkswagen announced last month that it plans to begin producing a new model at the Puebla factory, where capacity will be expanded from 450,000 units annually to 550,000 thanks to $1 billion in new investment.
Mexico’s auto output fell 42.9 percent during the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year, according to figures from the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. EFE
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=341687&CategoryId=14091
MEXICO CITY – Union workers went on strike Tuesday at the Volkswagen plant in the central Mexican city of Puebla, which normally produces 1,520 units per day of the German automaker’s Bora, Variant, Jetta and Beetle models.
The union that represents 9,243 of the 12,908 employees at the Puebla complex declared the strike after an apparent breakdown in talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Company sources told Efe that while the union sought an 8.25 percent wage increase for 2010 plus additional benefits, VW offered a 1 percent raise and a one-time bonus of 5,500 pesos ($423).
Even before the walkout, VW forecast a 30 percent decline in production at Puebla this year.
Union chief Victor Jaime Cervantes told reporters the workers were prepared to prolong the strike as long as necessary.
He said the negotiations had taken place in an atmosphere of respect until Tuesday morning, when VW representatives “asked for a recess and didn’t come back,” a move he condemned as “rude.”
Cervantes also said that the union had already scaled back its demands and is now asking for a 3 percent wage increase.
Both Volkswagen and the union expressed willingness to continue talking.
“The strike benefits no one,” Cervantes said.
Mexico’s Labor Department summoned both sides to a conciliation process set to begin Thursday.
The department asked VW and the union to make “the maximum effort” to achieve “an accord that permits them to balance the legitimate interests of each one of the parties, in the context of an economic recession and, particularly, of great difficulty for the automotive industry.”
A source with VW said the company had sufficient inventory on hand “for a few days.”
Volkswagen announced last month that it plans to begin producing a new model at the Puebla factory, where capacity will be expanded from 450,000 units annually to 550,000 thanks to $1 billion in new investment.
Mexico’s auto output fell 42.9 percent during the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year, according to figures from the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. EFE
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=341687&CategoryId=14091