The latest in a series of extraordinary meetings of the works council at the Audi car plant in the Brussels municipality of Vorst has failed to provide clarity about the factory’s future. The unions that represent workers at Audi Brussels say the management has once again told them that the only prospective investor for the plant is unable to provide a viable plan to keep the factory open. The unions say that they want management to give them a firm date for the factory's closure.
The unions were left disappointed after Tuesday’s extraordinary works council meeting. Although the meeting lasted more than 3 hours little if any light was shed on what will be the future for Audi Brussels.
Ronny Liedts of the Christian trade union ACV told journalists that “We had asked for clarity on potential investors. Management said the same as they did last time. That the potential investor’s plan is not viable and they do not want to go ahead with it.”
Something that bothers the unions is that management will not say who the potential investor is and what exactly their plans entail. Mr Liedts says that he now intends take the case of Audi Brussels to the Ministry of Employment as he says that the procedures outlined in the so-called “Renault Act” (that deals with collective redundancies, ed.) are not being respected.
“They need to bring clarity. Audi wants to get rid of Brussels as quickly as possible. They want to produce a few more cars and then get rid of the Brussels plant”
The unions say that they now want to negotiate a proper severance scheme for the nearly 3,000 workers who will lose their jobs. The workers at the factory need to know where they stand and “clear end date” is required.
“We demand clarity for the staff. Will it be end of this year, is it early next year, is next May? They have told us that we will be making cars until mid-April, but is that correct?”.