According to an official statement, Volkswagen workers at its main factory in Mexico voted against a 9% wage increase. This was the second time they turned down what would have been the country’s biggest automaker pay raise in recent years.
The union for the workers at the plant in Puebla, which is in central Mexico, first asked for a raise of more than 15%, from $15 to $48 per day, to make up for the skyrocketing cost of living.
Mexico’s Federal Labor Center issued a statement early Thursday morning after 3,450 workers voted against the accord compared to 3,225 who voted in favour on Wednesday. “The union and corporate representatives may now sit down to continue negotiating and try to achieve an agreement,” the statement said.
It was said that the Independent Union of Automotive Workers, which is one of the most powerful independent unions in Mexico, could now ask for a delay to a strike that was supposed to happen on September 9 so that negotiations could take place, or it could go ahead with the strike.
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Volkswagen Mexico did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Asian Trade. The facility in Puebla, around 130 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, manufactures the Tiguan and Jetta models for the German carmaker.
After the agreement was first turned down, Volkswagen said it would talk to the union in a “constructive way.”
The Labor Center had asked the union to rerun the poll in an effort to increase participation after 70% of workers voted against the agreement on August 5. It was reported that Wednesday’s participation exceeded 97%.
