European Workers Issues
Germany: Opel works council demands planned wage cut be kept secret
By Dietmar Henning, December 13, 2008
A ferocious controversy has broken out between the works council at Opel Bochum and the overall Opel works council at the company’s Rüsselsheim headquarters. Last week, when the Bochum works counci...
Crisis grips German auto industry
By Ludwig Weller, December 6, 2008
New figures and reports reveal the depth of the German auto industry’s crisis. One prognosis speaks of German auto markets taking “a nosedive with an unprecedented speed and development.”
Czech trade unions support mass redundancies in the auto industry
By Markus Salzmann, November 29, 2008
A wave of redundancies is sweeping the Czech auto industry and the biggest Czech trade unions are working hand in hand with company managements to implement dismissals.
German rail union Transnet embroiled in scandal
By Ludwig Weller, November 28, 2008
The leadership of the German rail union Transnet is directly implicated in a high-level financial scandal bound up with efforts to privatise the rail system.
France: Thousands demonstrate against postal service privatisation
By Olivier Laurent and Antoine Lerougetel, November 26, 2008
Demonstrations took place in towns across France on Saturday against the planned privatization of the postal service.
Berlin: Teachers denounce union leaders over contract deal
By Marius Heuser, November 26, 2008
At a November 20 meeting, dozens of Berlin’s teachers and education staff expressed their hostility to the policies employed by their union bureaucracy during the recent public service workers’ wa...
German media, political parties debate Opel rescue package
By Ludwig Weller, November 24, 2008
A fierce debate is taking place in Germany over whether the weakened automobile industry should receive any support from the government. The discussion has intensified since GM subsidiary Opel demande...
Germany: Opel works councils and IG Metall propose wage cuts
By Ulrich Rippert, November 22, 2008
IG Metall and its functionaries at Opel works councils—supporters of Opel’s request for a €1.8 billion federal loan—are using the current crisis of the automaker to impose a new round of wage ...
Impact of the General Motors crisis in Germany
WSWS speaks with Opel workers in Bochum
By Dietmar Henning, November 19, 2008
The crisis of GM in the US has had immediate consequences for the operations of its Opel subsidiary in Europe. Workers at the Opel factory in Bochum are especially concerned for their jobs and fear fo...
BMW plans early halt in production at German plants
WSWS reporters speak to BMW workers
By Markus Salzmann and Michael Regens, November 17, 2008
BMW management has cited a rapid decrease in car sales as grounds for halting production December 8 through January 9 at the company’s main plant in Munich.
British corporate giants axe thousands of jobs
By Mike Head, November 15, 2008
Major British firms are slashing thousands of jobs, but not just because of the economy’s slide into recession. They are also using the slump to carry through permanent job-cutting and restructuring...
Germany: IG Metall Union sells out wages movement
By Ludwig Weller, November 13, 2008
The German metal workers union has responded to the financial crisis by agreeing to a contract aimed at ensuring the profitability of the German metal industry—betraying a strike wave over wage cuts...
