Work resumes at Audi Brussels after one day strike
Workers at the Audi factory in the Brussels municipality of Forest returned to work on Wednesday morning. Workers at the plant, which is under threat of closure, had walked out on Tuesday over a proposed social plan that they considered inadequate.
Production was still at a standstill in Forest at the start of the morning shift at 6.00 on Wednesday, but workers quietly resumed work from around 7.30, union representative Ronny Liedts of ACV Metea said.
On Tuesday afternoon, workers had spontaneously walked off the job after management presented its first proposal for a social plan. The draft, which included a proposal for severance pay, was "far below expectations", according to Liedts.
Tuesday's strike came after the plant had resumed operations only two weeks earlier. The plant had previously been at a standstill for almost three months when workers walked out after Audi management announced a restructuring.
Potential buyer
Unions were also told on Tuesday that only one potential buyer for the Forest plant had come forward, but that it had not put a viable plan on the table. It is not known who the interested party is.
The unions will now draw up their own proposal for a social plan to be presented next Wednesday. The potential buyer has been given an additional five days to clarify its plan, which would see up to 1,500 people, or about half of the current workforce, kept on.
An Audi Brussels worker during a union demonstration on 16 September 2024 in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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