No work is underway at the Audi factory in Vorst (Brussels) today. Management told the workforce to stay home. At 6 o'clock this morning, however, 150 workers willing to work, stood at a closed gate. The unions sent for a bailiff to take note of the lock-out. The management is willing to restart operations, but under certain conditions. ‘The atmosphere is calm for the minute,’ says Jan Baetens of the Christian trade union. ‘We have just had a bailiff establish that the factory is closed. So it is clearly a ‘lock-out’.
The bailiff attends purely for legal reasons. That’s because the workers willing to work are not getting paid today, and that is causing anxiety.
‘From tomorrow, we will be looking to take steps regarding temporary unemployment (due to force majeure),’ Mr Baetens explains.
Factory closed until further notice
Management announced last night that the factory would remain closed.
‘It was the express intention of Audi Brussels to resume production last week, progressively and in 2 shifts. This turned out not to be possible as there were insufficient employees prepared to start normal production and enable the delivery of cars to dealers,’ an Audi spokesperson explained.
Workers have taken the keys of 200 finished and unfinished cars. Management is demanding the keys back by 12 noon today, but that is unlikely to happen. The unions are first asking for the situation to be clarified quickly.
Trades unionist Baetens: ‘We are still talking to the management. We have to drag words out of their mouths. Create clarity: is this a closure? Then people will accept that and then we can sit round the table to negotiate a good social plan.’