Tesla employs more than 10,000 workers at its Giga Berlin plant in Germany. The workforce is set to benefit from a raise in wages amidst calls for unionization of the plant.
Germany’s powerful employee union, IG Metall, has been making in-roads into Giga Berlin, where it hopes to create a union. The association recently claimed 1,000 workers on the plant’s payroll have signed on to demand better working conditions, even though Tesla insists the claims were exaggerated.
Against this backdrop, Tesla plans to unveil new wage increases for Giga Berlin workers in November. The increase will likely be around the same 6 percent raise employees received last year. However, the automaker claims the upward review was not in response to unionization efforts. “We regularly check the salaries of our employees to ensure fair remuneration. Of course, we inform our employees first about the amount.” (via SZ)
However, IG Metall welcomes the move but is pushing for more. The association’s district manager, Dirk Schulze, commented, “Any wage increase is welcome, especially since pay at Tesla continues to lag well behind the tariff level in the auto industry in Germany. However, unilateral announcements of wage increases by a company management do not replace negotiations on equal terms.”
Giga Berlin workers can now ride the train to the station built purposely for the factory.
