The planned restructuring of the group is causing heated discussions at Airbus.
Now the signs are on strike.
That could seriously affect the aircraft manufacturer.
Hamburg - An open conflict has been smoldering at Airbus * for months.
IG Metall is now openly threatening industrial action because of plans for a major corporate restructuring.
To this end, the largest German trade union put demands on the aircraft manufacturer for a social wage agreement on Friday, which is to be negotiated in Hamburg from Wednesday.
This should regulate the conditions for the employees who are affected by the conversion at the Airbus Operations and Premium Aerotec subsidiaries.
IG Metall and works councils are demanding - so far in vain from their point of view - concrete promises to secure employment at the locations in northern Germany and Augsburg into the next decade.
IG Metall: "Will defend us accordingly"
"If Airbus wants to keep its head through the wall, then we will defend ourselves accordingly and do what we can, namely through warning strikes, exerting economic pressure on the company through labor disputes," said IG Metall * District Manager Coast Daniel Friedrich on Friday.
Friedrich has been commissioned by the union's board of directors to conduct the nationwide negotiations.
His Bavarian colleague, the Munich district manager Johann Horn, complained that Airbus was letting its employees starve to death "on the outstretched arm", had "escalated the situation by doing nothing" and was forcing "employees to fight for their future prospects".
A labor dispute would be extremely inconvenient for Airbus.
The aircraft manufacturer is sitting on full order books, business is picking up again after the Corona low.
Airbus: 13,000 employees affected by the renovation
The French boss of the Dax candidate Airbus, Guillaume Faury, announced in April that at the beginning of 2022 parts of Airbus Operations and large parts of Premium Aerotec will be merged into a new subsidiary that will take care of structural assembly.
This involves, for example, large body parts.
In addition, a new unit is to be created that will concentrate on the production of individual parts and small components.
For this company, which should also serve other customers, Airbus is striving to establish a connection with a “strong, external partner”.
According to IG Metall, almost 13,000 employees at the Airbus locations in Hamburg, Bremen and Stade as well as at the Airbus subsidiary Premium Aerotec in Nordenham, Varel and Augsburg are affected.
There are similar plans in France *.
A red rag for the German workforce, however, is that Airbus wants to integrate its French subsidiary Stelia into the group, but want to split up its German subsidiary Premium Aerotec in parts production.
The union and works councils have already expressed their displeasure with the renovation plans at works meetings and protests *.
A further escalation would be inconvenient for Airbus because the aircraft manufacturer is sitting on bulging order books, especially for its bestsellers from the A320 family, and is about to ramp up production after the emergency stop in the corona crisis *.
IG Metall: Criticism of the plans - new structure weakens Airbus
"The new structure will not make Airbus stronger, but weaker," argues IG Metall District Manager Friedrich.
“We reject a spin-off and a possible sale of the individual parts production, to which the Premium Aerotec plants in Varel and Augsburg partially belong.
The area is part of the new structure. ”In addition, the union insists on“ clear commitments for future work that will secure employment and locations in the long term ”.
IG Metall takes the detour via formal collective bargaining negotiations because this is the only way in which a strike is ultimately possible.
So far, the works councils had spoken to management about the renovation plans.
However, they only have limited pressure potential: Works councils are legally prohibited from calling for industrial action.
IG-Metall: Severance payments, hardship regulations and qualification measures required
The negotiations are to begin on Wednesday (September 1st) in a Hamburg * hotel.
The union and Airbus have agreed a further negotiation date for the following Tuesday (September 7th).
In trade union circles, however, it is not expected that an agreement will be reached by then.
The specific requirements for the social wage agreement are intended to protect employees in the event of an emergency: IG Metall demands a severance payment of three gross salaries per year of service, but at least 25,000 euros, should employees lose their jobs.
In addition, a hardship rule and two-year qualification measures are to be agreed.
Because the union believes that the rebuilding plans are likely to have long-term consequences, it requires a term of 12 years.
At Airbus, a decision has to be made in favor of a successor to the A320 in the next few years, which should come onto the market in the next decade.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of IPPEN-MEDIA
