Autoeuropa workers fail agreement that guaranteed salary increases of 6.8%

The workers of Autoeuropa this Wednesday rejected a labor agreement valid for three years, which guaranteed salary increases of 6.8% in 2024, and 2.6%, or 0.6% above inflation, in 2025 and 2026, with 57.7 % of votes against.

According to the Workers’ Committee (CT) of Autoeuropa, of the 4,888 registered workers, 3,932 exercised their right to vote, of which 1,645 (41.8%) voted in favor of the pre-agreement and 2,268 (57.7%) voted against, with 956 abstentions recorded (19.6%), 10 blank votes and nine null votes.

In view of the rejection of the pre-labor agreement in the referendum held on Tuesday and Wednesday, CT has already announced that it “will demand the company return to the negotiating table”.

The pre-agreement that had been reached in negotiations between the Workers’ Committee (CT) and the management of the Volkswagen/Autoeuropa car factory, in addition to the expected percentage increases in the base salary, shift allowance and weekend work , also ensured an annual objective bonus that could provide, on average, more than 2,500 euros to each worker.

Single prize scheduled for 2025

It also provided for a single bonus to be awarded in 2025, equivalent to one month’s salary, for the launch of the new T-Roc hybrid model, which will be produced from next year 2025 at the Volkswagen factory, in Palmela, in the district of Setúbal.

Before the vote, the CT recalled that the increases foreseen in the pre-agreement negotiated with the company’s management would make it possible to safeguard the purchasing power of Autoeuropa workers, in the face of any internal or external factor.

The general director of Autoeuropa, Thomas Hegel Gunther, in an internal communication addressed to workers before the referendum, highlighted that the aforementioned pre-agreement provided for “one of the highest salary increases in the history of Volkswagen/Autoeuropa”, but warned of increased costs of production at the factory in challenging times for the European automotive industry.

Volkswagen Autoeuropa, one of the largest national exporters, last year produced a total of 220,100 T-Roc cars, the only model in production at the Palmela factory.