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Workers Strike at VW’s Slovakian Plant
Hourly workers at Volkswagen AG’s factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, walked out today as part of a demand for a double-digit hike in base pay.
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Hourly workers at Volkswagen AG’s factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, walked out today as part of a demand for a double-digit hike in base pay. The strike is the facility’s first since it opened in 1992, according to Reuters.
VW has offered workers a 4.2% raise and €350 bonus. Workers are demanding a 16% pay hike. Reuters say Kia and PSA recently granted increases of 7.5% and 6.3%, respectively at their plants in Slovakia.
On Monday Prime Minister Robert Fico declared his support for the strike. He points out that Slovakian workers earn less than half what VW pays hourly employees in western Europe.
But VW counters that its Slovak workers average €1,800 ($2,000) in wages per month—double the national amount—and about 26% more than the average earned by a VW worker in the Czech Republic. The Bratislava plant made 388,700 vehicles last year. The facility assembles VW and SEAT small cars and bodies for the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg SUV/crossover vehicles.
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