Enlarge image
There was a good atmosphere in Grünheide: Tesla employees last March on the occasion of an appointment to start production
Photo: PATRICK PLEUL / AFP
IG Metall is concerned about the working conditions at Tesla in Grünheide.
Employees reported to the union that they were dissatisfied with stressful shift systems, frequent overtime at weekends, a very high overall workload and too few staff, said Irene Schulz, district manager of IG Metall for Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony.
The employees also said that it was sometimes too hot in the production halls in summer and too cold in winter.
All in all, the company is not doing enough to improve working conditions and offers too little space for leisure and recreation.
"According to our observation, there is also a lack of a management culture that promotes an open debate in the company about such concerns of the employees."
The employees have to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the employment contract, which is also referred to again and again in everyday company life.
The employees are unsure whether they are even allowed to talk to the union about the employment contracts.
"We don't know from other companies that such questions are asked in this form and with such frequency," said Schulz.
The district manager of the union also reported on a job advertisement for a security intelligence investigator, which caused many questions in the company.
"You will conduct both proactive and reactive investigations and actively address internal and external threats to Tesla's proprietary and confidential information," the company's job posting reads.
Among other things, »several years of experience as an investigator with international/national law enforcement agencies or intelligence services and/or equivalent time in a security environment of a company« is expected.
Against whom or what should the investigator investigate?
Due to a lack of transparency in the company, many employees are now wondering what exactly the content of these investigations is supposed to be - and whether they themselves might come into focus, said Schulz.
When asked, Tesla initially did not comment on the allegations.
For a long time, IG Metall has also complained about significant salary differences in the plant, which are often incomprehensible.
Initially, Tesla was able to recruit many employees despite salaries that were below the standard wages of other companies in the metal industry.
Tesla employees also get shares in the company, which the company sees as an additional financial incentive.
But apparently the Grünheide plant was unable to achieve the targets it had set itself for new hires and increased wages, which, according to the union, resulted in an unfair salary structure.
IG Metall reported on complaints from the workforce last summer.
mamk/dpa-AFX
