Support the struggle of Volkswagen workers in Brussels

The strike by Volkswagen workers in Brussels makes clear the urgency of organizing a joint struggle by workers at all VW locations and plants.

The decision by VW management to withdraw production of the Golf model from its factory in Brussels and shift production to its German factories at Wolfsburg and Mosel in Saxony is part of the “historic savings program” announced at the beginning of the year. The program involves drastic rationalization measures in the form of substantial job and wage cuts, combined with worsened working conditions for all VW factories throughout Europe.

One site is being played off against another and workers blackmailed into accepting these attacks. Many workers are aware of this fact and see the necessity of a common, internationally coordinated struggle by all employees as the prerequisite for any successful defense of jobs. The international strategy pursued by the company management must be matched by an international strategy of resistance.

The problem is that the trade unions and the works councils hold the opposite point of view. They are collaborating intimately with the executive and are the main instrument for implementing management policies at the expense of the workforce. This role played by the work councils and the trade union bureaucracy has been especially evident in the case of this latest move by Volkswagen.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/nov2006/vwst-n25.shtml