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The first works council election at the Tesla factory in Grünheide took place in 2022 before the factory opened.
Since then, many more people have been working in the factory.
© Joerg Carstensen/dpa
Around two years after the first works council election at Tesla's Gigafactory near Berlin, another election is taking place.
The IG Metall union makes demands to which Tesla responds.
Grünheide - The second works council election began on Monday at Tesla's only car plant in Europe in Grünheide near Berlin.
Nine lists with 234 candidates are running for election.
The works council chairwoman Michaela Schmitz is running again.
IG Metall is demanding better working conditions and a collective agreement.
Tesla rejects collective bargaining, but sees many of the union's demands already being implemented.
A spokeswoman said that occupational safety, which IG Metall demands, is Tesla's top priority.
“The recent power outage in particular showed that the implemented processes are effective.
Even in this extremely exceptional situation, there was never any danger to life and limb or to the environment.” An attack on the factory's power supply led to a power outage and a production stop for almost a week.
Savings are made too often when it comes to accident protection
Significant improvements such as hardship allowances have been implemented in occupational safety, Tesla said.
IG Metall accuses the car manufacturer of cutting corners on accident protection too often for “Tesla Speed”.
It also calls for longer cycle times, appropriate line breaks, more staff and the taking on of temporary workers.
All temporary workers received equal pay and treatment from day one, Tesla replied.
Several hundred temporary workers have been taken on so far.
The cycle time is not decisive for the workload; it is about the work content per cycle, which at Tesla is in the same range as at other manufacturers.
IG Metall sees great interest
“There are cycle times of 45 seconds in production, then there are recurring activities, and of course that is exhausting.
That makes people tired and also makes them broken and susceptible to illness,” said the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district manager, Dirk Schulze, on RBB Inforadio.
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IG Metall sees great interest in the works council election.
“Colleagues tell us about queues in front of the polling stations in the company,” Schulze told the German Press Agency.
The union criticizes the fact that the previous head of the works council comes from the management level and accuses Tesla of the fact that the current works council is not very on the side of the workforce.
Schmitz had rejected criticism.
She does not believe a collective agreement is necessary and points to salary increases of up to 18 percent without a collective agreement.
Around 12,500 employees
Plant manager André Thierig announced annual wage changes during a visit by Tesla boss Elon Musk last week.
The first works council election took place in 2022 before the plant opened.
Since then, many more people have been working in the factory - currently around 12,500, according to the company.
Environmental activists have been protesting in the forest near the factory since the end of February against Tesla's planned expansion of the site to include a freight station.
For this to happen, the forest would have to be cleared.
Police imposed conditions on the camp on Friday, including the dismantling of tree houses.
In contrast, the activists submitted an urgent application to the Potsdam Administrative Court.
The court initially suspended the requirements and announced a decision for Tuesday at the earliest.
Grünheide votes against a Tesla expansion
“Those involved would still have the opportunity to comment on each other,” said a court spokesman.
Violations of the requirements cannot be punished for the time being.
A majority of the citizens of Grünheide voted against expanding the factory in a survey.
The municipality of Grünheide wants to propose that only about half of the forest be cleared.
dpa