VDL threatens to withdraw a bonus of 7,500 euros if Nedcar employees continue to strike. This is apparent from an internal communication from Nedcar director John van Soerland to the employees of the car factory in Born.
According to Van Soerland, the bonus of 7500 euros will only be paid if all agreements with BMW are met. ‘Work interruptions mean that we cannot comply with our agreements, so that the personal bonus will not be paid’, Van Soerland said to the employees.
VDL’s warning is part of an internal communication about its own negotiation proposal for a new social plan. The announcement was distributed in response to the members’ meeting of the unions, where the employees unanimously decided to go on strike on Tuesday out of dissatisfaction with the negotiating result.
Discord
FNV director Peter Reniers said in a response on Saturday that VDL hopes to break the strike in this way. “VDL is trying to sow discord with this announcement,” he said. ‘People are very angry, they mainly read that the bonus of 7500 euros is cancelled. With that you throw oil on the fire, and this letter has the opposite effect.’
According to the company, VDL’s negotiation proposal shows an average increase of 28 percent compared to the current social plan. ‘We are convinced that this negotiating agreement does justice and expresses appreciation for your efforts in recent years. The transition payment is more than twice what is legally agreed.’
‘Not up for discussion’
‘We have often emphasized in the past period that the future of VDL Nedcar is not under discussion. We are convinced that the developments we are working hard on are the right ones and that we can maintain as many jobs as possible with them,’ says Van Soerland. But today’s circumstances mean that ‘unfortunately we are on the eve of the reduction of a group of employees.’ VDL provides them with a good safety net, says Van Soerland, a social plan that consists of good compensation and voluntary guidance from job to job. Below the letter are some examples of indicative severance payments as of 1 November.
