ATIK | Konföderation der Arbeiter aus der Turkei in Europa |
DORTMUND | 18-06-2014 | Today Tomorrow 16er June was held a meeting of the Opel management jointly with IG Metall district line in Dortmund. There colleagues should be informed of the details of the so-called „social collective agreement“ with which the work is to be shut down. Before the event was a manifestation of the list for a militant union council work, OFFENSIVE instead. Was involved in this, a delegation of the Bochum Johnson Controls employees, a supplier of the Opel plant. The 16-page contract that is nevertheless decide the future of thousands of working families was only distributed today morning at the entrance. The „Red Flag“ said Rainer Weinmann from OFFENSIVE over the course of the subsequent event:
„The event was marked by the fact that the management has duly scared to death to the staff. They have an extra security is involved, which has controlled the entrance. You should avoid at all costs that BASTA women colleagues from other companies or by solidarity area come to the hall The event was outside the work in another city -. in Dortmund – made to extract the colleagues from the usual environment.
The staff got paid today, one day free. It did not matter if you went to Dortmund or simply freed. This shows that was not required, that the mass of colleagues coming. But actually came very many colleagues. We assume that about 2,000 of the 3,500 employees were there today.
Ulrich Schumacher, the personnel manager of Opel in Germany, once again stressed that the overcapacity would make the plant closure unfortunately no alternative. It has the ‚Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung‘ blabbed on 16 May that the plant closure a political criminal action is: ‚The General Motors headquarters in Detroit was the constant cross-shooting the Bochum Opel workforce sorry and wanted to set an example. Otherwise, it would certainly Zafira model can produce in Bochum further two years. ‚ Because of no alternative!
Next, explained the Head of Human Resources Opel Bochum, Bettina dark, and the rule of ordinary skill in the IGM National Executive Committee, Felix Stump, the contents of the contract. The whole thing went down icy silence of the workforce across the stage. None of the speakers, including the IGM district manager Knut Giesler got applause. The workforce has thus a sovereign signal set and broken through the event director.
Two full-time IG Metall then went with microphones through the hall, and you could ask questions. It was obvious that they had the order, but does not give the microphone so out of hand.
Nevertheless, it was discussed very critical. The colleagues feel the treaty as an insult to their job performance, as an insult to their honor as workers and Bochum Opel workers. The atmosphere culminated when a colleague thanked the IG Metall, the result is still quite okay. Then the cups were high: the mass of colleagues disagree with that conclusion. It means the closure of the Bochum plant. The severance pay is not even the same from what my colleagues have refrained in recent years. Colleagues can not help it that GM has built speculatively new works. You should now pay for that capitalism does not work.
Around 20 delegates have unanimously rejected the treaty in their speeches. They got a lot of applause, especially if they have denounced the inhuman character and the devaluation of life achievement. As an insult, it felt a colleague that the ’newly brought out‘ increase in compensation for more than 25 years permanent workforce is only 500 euros per year. It would have spoken more colleagues, if not would have been aborted at 11.15 clock.
The kicker was that the IG Metall and the works council leadership had always promised that the workforce can vote on this contract. Now it was suddenly: That must be signed within two weeks. Only after many have asked for the vote, Knut Giesler is moved out so that there shall be no voting. ‚We do not want you to come into a situation where you must agree with the plant closure itself. Therefore, we will do it for you, ’said the cynical comment. In fact, the absence of this vote is an admission: that all maneuvers in recent months the staff have not worn down, and certainly not convinced to agree to their own funeral. And that the workforce has never accepted the closure. „
It is important to know that the „collective agreement“ expressly contains a peace obligation of the union. The only way to fight for every job and against the closure is the path of struggle and of the strike. For this, the situation is favorable at the moment because many workforces are affected in Bochum and throughout the Ruhr region of impending job losses. The supplier operations of Opel Bochum not appear in the „set-aside contract“ on anyway. But the closure of the Opel plant would affect about 45,000 jobs and would have a devastating impact for the region. The voices are getting louder, calling for a common approach.
