Unions and management reach deal on restart of Audi Brussels plant
The management of Audi Brussels and the unions have reached an agreement on the reopening of the plant, it was announced early Friday morning. Work will resume on Tuesday. But the long-term future of the plant is still unclear.
The mediation attempt between the unions and management at Audi Brussels, which started at 14:00 on Thursday, finally produced results early on Friday morning. The management announced shortly afterwards that an agreement had been reached to reopen the plant on a voluntary basis. This was confirmed by the unions.
In concrete terms, this means that the plant will be able to restart from next Tuesday. The restart will take place in two phases. "From Tuesday, we will start in the body and paint shop and we will start shipping cars to our dealers," the announcement said. From Wednesday, production will resume in all departments. All employees will be paid for this week, management said.
Long-term future still unclear
"It is a good compromise that should give oxygen to the people on the ground and to the negotiations on the future of the plant in order to be able to take the next steps," says union official Jan Baetens of ACV-Metea. He added that he considered the "chances of success to be positive".
The long-term future of Audi Brussels is not yet clear. Negotiations on this issue will also resume on Tuesday, according to Baetens. The plant employs around 3,000 people.
© BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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