4 November, 2009VW Group Board of Management, International Metalworkers' Federation and VW Global Group Works Council sign Global Charter on Labour Relations.
GLOBAL: The International Metalworkers' Federation and the Volkswagen Group Board of Management signed a Global Charter on Labour Relations on October 29, setting out binding minimum standards for the entire Group in the area of the participation rights of employee representative bodies at the level of individual facilities.
The Global Charter on Labour Relations was signed at the meeting of the Global Group Works Council held at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany. The Charter sets out the participation rights of employee representative bodies in the following areas: human resources and social matters, labour organization, remuneration systems, information and communication, initial and advanced training, occupational health and safety, controlling, and social and ecological sustainability.
The agreement distinguishes between three stages in participation, the right to receive information, consultation rights and codetermination. At the Group's locations, the Charter will be implemented on the basis of specific agreements reached between the managements and employee representatives of the plants concerned.
The Charter also provides for annual location symposia at which management and employee representatives are to discuss the development of the location within the relevant planning period and especially employment prospects.
In addition, the Charter also grants to global employee representative bodies the right to hold workforce meetings at least once per year. At these meetings, management is to inform the workforce on the economic situation, the development of the location and developments in the area of human resources and social matters.
The President of the International Metalworkers' Federation and President of IG Metall, Berthold Huber, stressed, "The Charter is to improve world-wide labour relations standards at all locations. The fact that employers and employee representatives are negotiating on the future of labour relations in these economically troubled times demonstrates the importance attached to these issues by both sides. The charter is an expression of the special culture of co-determination at Volkswagen, a co-determination culture that Volkswagen has made successful."
A copy of the Charter, in English and German, are published on the IMF website. The translations into further languages will follow.