“We will decide next Wednesday in the cabinet by ordinance to extend the short-time working rules,” said Heil, confirming the plans to double the benefit period to 24 months. It's about building bridges and securing employment.
Because of the company's difficult situation, Volkswagen is demanding a wage cut of ten percent and the cancellation of allowances. The company's management is also threatening redundancies and plant closures for operational reasons.
The SPD Minister Heil, who comes from Lower Saxony, was confident that he could avert this. “Volkswagen can produce cars that are successful in world markets, I have no doubt about that,” he told the newspaper. “What is important now are social partnership solutions between management and the union.”
