International software employees at VW Infotainment want a collective agreement
They have elected their IG Metall "Vertrauensleute" (people of trust, trade union representatives). The software employees at Volkswagen Infotainment want a tariff agreement. Their wages are around 20 percent below tariff level. The new "Vertrauensleute" also include internationals, such as software engineer Punith Murugesh from India.
A company that has Volkswagen in its name but doesn't have a collective agreement? Yes, there is. At Volkswagen Infotainment in Bochum, around 1,000 employees from 52 nations develop software for Volkswagen on the former site of the car manufacturer Opel in Bochum / Western Germany since 2014. Their wages are around 20 percent below the collective agreement.
Their parent company, the VW software subsidiary Cariad, has long had a collective agreement ("Tarifvertrag") at the level of the VW tariff. Last year, Cariad employees won a decent wage increase of 8.5 percent more money in three stages with nationwide warning strikes. And they only work 35 hours a week there - and not 40, like at Volkswagen Infotainment.
"I saw the direct impact and the advantages of IG Metall"
That's what they want at Volkswagen Infotainment too: a tariff agreement. That's why they have now elected IG Metall "Vertrauensleute" (people of trust, trade union representatives). Among them: Senior Software Engineer Punith Murugesh (the man in the picture above with sunglasses) from India. "We do the same work here as at Cariad, but for less money and with more working hours," criticizes Punith.
In India, Punith worked at Bosch and saw the good working conditions in the production area that the union had established there. But that didn't apply to the software sector because of the special conditions that the Indian local state government bodies offer to software companies. At the end of 2017, Punith came to Germany and initially worked as an external specialist at Bombardier in Mannheim, among others, before moving to a permanent position at VW Infotainment.
"At Bombardier, I witnessed the warning strikes in the 2017/2018 collective bargaining round - and I saw the direct impact, the advantages and the protection that IG Metall offers employees," reports Punith. "I was all the more astonished when I came to VW Infotainment - and there was no union and no collective agreement. I started talking to people about it."
Now win more IG Metall members
The newly elected "Vertrauensleute" at VW Infotainment now want to win more members for IG Metall in order to enforce their collective tariff agreement. "It's not that easy. Many employees here come from countries where unions are unwelcome and are therefore afraid to join," explains "Vertrauensfrau" ("woman of trust") Ariane Menke. "Many have also not understood the difference between a works council and a union and say: We have a works council - so why do we need IG Metall? In addition, software developers in particular often prefer to negotiate for themselves."
Ariane is the assistant to the works council at VW Infotainment, which now consists mostly of IG Metall members - and is therefore close to the action. The works councils from Bochum meet regularly with the other works councils at Cariad. "We see what's available at Cariad," explains Ariane. "VW Infotainment does pass some of it on to us, such as the inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros that Cariad paid. In 2020, for example, we also got the pay rise at Cariad, albeit on a much lower basis, as we work 40 and not 35 hours. "
Tariff agreement - know what you’ll get
The word "tariff" comes from Arabic and means: you know what is to be paid. You know, what you’ll get. Immediately after their election at the end of May, the new "Vertrauensleute" at VW Infotainment had their first IG Metall schooling session at the Beverungen training center of IG Metall.
At the end of June they had a union members' meeting at VW Infotainment, where they also discussed possible demands. They want higher wages, that are regulated and transparent through a tariff agreement, and shorter working hours.
But one thing is clear: In order to be able to enforce their collective agreement, they need to become even more IG Metall members. They want to tackle this together in the next few months - and then call on Volkswagen Infotainment to enter into collective bargaining negotiations.
IG Metall is supporting the colleagues at VW Infotainment on this path
"Almost two years ago, it was colleagues from the works council who were interested in the subject of the tariff agreement and accepted our invitation to an information event," reports Marc Schneider, Representative of the local IG Metall Ruhr Mitte. "Since then, we have built up a trusting relationship."
IG Metall on site and those active in the company are supported by the Joint Development Project (Gemeinsames Erschließungsprojekt, GEP) of IG Metall NRW.
"We had to adapt to the requirements of an international environment, both in the way we approached people and in our agitation. We have created occasions and used occasions to speak to as many colleagues as possible, whether digital, hybrid or on-site," explains Pantea Bashi, who works for the GEP at VW Infotainment. "The development is particularly pleasing because the colleagues at VW Infotainment are motivated and can thus motivate their colleagues to become union members. We are looking forward to a good result with a tariff agreement for VW Infotainment in Bochum."
