The unions have again declared a 24-hour strike for next Friday at the Nedcar car factory in Born. The unions announced this this afternoon. This is the eighth strike day declared by the unions.
The unions are demanding a better social plan from Nedcar owner VDL than is currently available. This in connection with the announced mass layoffs as of November 1, and the expected further layoffs early next year.
Recent attempts to speed up the negotiations between VDL and the unions failed. The unions held exploratory talks with Nedcar’s management on Tuesday in an attempt to resume negotiations. According to CNV director Jeroen Bruinsma, nothing came of it.
“The mass redundancy notice from VDL Nedcar on June 1 has hit hard,” said FNV director Peter Reniers. ‘Especially because a good and just social plan is still lacking. Employees at Nedcar are proud of their work, of the factory and of their customer BMW. And they would like to see this reflected in a dignified social plan that does justice to all these feelings. Unfortunately, the VDL Nedcar management still does not want to honor this.’
Mass firing
As of 1 November, more than 1800 of the total of 3950 Nedcar employees will lose their jobs. More mass layoffs are expected early next year. This is because a contract with BMW for the construction of MINIs in Born expires in March 2024. A successor for the Bavarian car company has not yet been found.
According to the works council (OR), the difference between the offer from VDL and the demand from the trade unions is 20 million euros. Trade unions and works councils previously pointed out that each strike day costs the company at least 9 million euros. In addition, the production backlog is increasing considerably and, according to the Works Council, it will no longer be possible to make up for it before the summer.
