GME and the European trade union coordination group start negotiations about the future of employees in Azambuja
Today, the European trade union coordination group composed of members of the European Employee Forum (EEF) and of trade union officials of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) met under the auspices of the EMF to evaluate the protest actions undertaken in the past three weeks and to decide on further steps.
A wave of protest actions had been launched on 13th June in all 18 GME plants with the massive participation of thousands of workers and the strong support of the European trade unions organised in GME.
During these days, the European trade union coordination group repeated their intention to refuse any diktat imposed on them by GME management and expressed their readiness to negotiate with GME about the future of employees in Azambuja and of all GME plants in the European Union.
Following the success of the protest actions in all GME plants, they have now noted the willingness expressed by GME management to enter into negotiations with its employee representatives on the European level.
The European trade union coordination group therefore took the unanimous decision to suspend their actions in the plants on 5th July and to take management’s offer to negotiate with them.
“The negotiations should not only concentrate on finding perspectives for the employees in Azambuja. They should also aim at obtaining firm guarantees for the European plants Opel, Vauxhall and Saab in the case that GME management intends to expand its capacities in Central and Eastern Europe” explained Klaus Franz.
Peter Scherrer, the EMF General Secretary underlined that “thanks to the exceptional wave of solidarity expressed in the last few weeks by the workforce throughout the 18 plants, with the strong support of the EMF and its affiliated organisations concerned, GME management has now shown its readiness to enter into a constructive dialogue with the workers’ representatives.
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PRESS 20/2006
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary
