VW labour representative hopes for compromise before Christmas

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) – Volkswagen (ETR:) works council chief Daniela Cavallo is hoping for a good compromise this year in the German carmaker’s row with workers over cost-cutting, she said ahead of the latest round of negotiations on Monday.

“We don’t want to go into the Christmas holiday with this fear,” Cavallo said outside a hotel in the German city of Hanover, where Volkswagen and labour representatives are to hold their fifth round of talks.

Both sides are prepared for the talks to last several days, unless it becomes apparent on Monday that they are too far apart to come to an agreement this year.

Should that be the case, the talks will be paused until 2025, and unions have threatened strike action on an unprecedented scale.

Over 100,000 staff at nine plants across the country laid down tools last week in the largest strikes ever seen at the carmaker, protesting management’s stance that wages must be cut and capacity downsized for the VW brand to stay competitive.

Sascha Dudzik of the IG Metall union reiterated on Monday the union’s opposition to plant closures and mass redundancies.