Unions organise European day of action at General Motors Europe
In early May 2007, the European Metalworkers’ Federation and the European Employee Forum of General Motors Europe called on workers to take part in protest actions that were organised at the manufacturer’s plants throughout Europe. This European ‘day of action’ was organised in protest against the group’s plans concerning the distribution of production volumes which would negatively affect employment levels at the Antwerp plant in northern Belgium.
Job cuts at GME Antwerp
The future of the various European plants of General Motors (GM) again looks very insecure. After the production cuts at the Ellesmere Port plant in the UK (UK0606019I) and the closure of the Azambuja plant in Portugal (HU0607069I), this time the Antwerp plant in northern Belgium is facing serious difficulties. The Antwerp plant, part of the Joint Delta Working Group (EU0610029I), is one of the five Delta plants that have been affected in terms of future production of the Astra model.
In March 2007, the trade union coordination group of General Motors Europe (GM Europe) consisting of members of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and the company’s European Works Council, known as the European Employees’ Forum (EEF), met to discuss joint strategies against the management’s decisions. The coordination group reconfirmed that negotiations with GM Europe concerning the distribution of the production volumes of the next generation of the Astra model could only take place on the condition that no redundancies were envisaged. As in the past, they would take European cross-border action (EU0411201N) if GM Europe did not respect these commitments.
However, in mid April 2007, GM Europe’s management announced plans concerning the new generation of the Astra model. The new model would not be produced at the Antwerp plant, which would result in the loss of 1,400 jobs at the Antwerp plant and a narrowing down of the production volume to 80,000 cars a year. According to the EEF and EMF, the latter is far from sufficient since the full capacity measures 250,000 units a year. Thus, the reduction of the production volume could imply the risk of a plant closure.
European day of action
On 25 April 2007, workers at the Antwerp plant decided to go on strike. All GM Europe workers and unions strongly expressed their solidarity for the Antwerp employees and supported their Belgian colleagues’ demand for additional production volume and products for the plant. Furthermore, EMF and the EEF decided to call for another European ‘day of action’.
On 3 May 2007, EMF and the EEF organised a joint European day of action for all European plants of GM Europe. GM Europe employees at 15 sites in eight countries stopped work for several hours in solidarity with the striking GM Europe workers in Antwerp and in support of their European demands. Solidarity messages were also sent on the day of the strike by trade unions in Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France and Poland.
Trade unions and structures of interest representation at all GM Europe plants presented two major demands. First, they asked for a guarantee of a decent share of production volumes and the allocation of at least two products to the Antwerp plant. Furthermore, they demanded the conclusion of a European Future Agreement until 2016 for all European GM plants, including minimum standards for outsourcing.
Results of strike action
The strike at the Antwerp plant of GM Europe and the European solidarity action pushed the company’s management to make concessions and thereby change its initial plan concerning the Antwerp site. The new industrial plan for the plant foresees the production of two new sport utility vehicle (SUV) models and a total annual production volume of 120,000 units. Moreover, GM Europe will review the possibility of manufacturing an additional third model at Antwerp.
Therefore, on 13 May 2007, after almost two weeks of strike action, just over 50% of the workers at the Antwerp plant voted in favour of resuming work.
Commentary
As negotiations are still ongoing, a lot of scepticism seems to remain among the unions and workers at the Antwerp plant. First of all, the restructuring process at the Antwerp plant will still result in the loss of up to 1,400 jobs. Secondly, the workers fear that the management’s new industrial plan is a loose promise. According to GM Europe management, the future of the plant will depend on its competitiveness. The employee representatives believe that this might mean even more flexibility and lower wages.
The intention of the EEF is to conclude a framework agreement at European level to secure the future of all production sites and not only for the Delta plants. In particular, the EEF and EMF state that no union or works council will negotiate or make any commitments at local level with regard to either outsourcing, job reductions or cost savings, before a European framework agreement is concluded.
Volker Telljohann and Maite Tapia, Institute for Labour Foundation, Bologna