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• Works agreement signed
• Arrangement gives employees more possibilities
• Greater compatibility between work and private life
In future, Volkswagen employees will be able to ensure greater compatibility between their work and private lives. The foundations have been laid by a works agreement on mobile working signed by the company and the Works Council on the occasion of a meeting of Works Council members in Wolfsburg.
Dr. Karlheinz Blessing, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for Human Resources, emphasized: “Volkswagen now has a very progressive agreement concerning mobile working. This will foster employee satisfaction and responsibility. At the same time, we will be improving the quality of work and productivity. Except where there are objections as a result of specific conditions at a plant, employees will in future be able to organize their work in a way which fits the stage they have reached their lives – some employees because they are young parents and others because they are caring for relatives.”
The Chairman of the General Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, underscored: “In the survey on ‘good work in the office’, in which 21,000 colleagues participated, many stated that they wanted better mobile working possibilities. These will now become reality as a result of the works agreement, without anyone being under an obligation to engage in mobile working. The new provisions will mean that many of our colleagues be able to organize their work and private lives better in the future. It is important that we clearly agreed that mobile working will not be a back door to unpaid overtime.”
The agreement on mobile working will apply from September and will help make Volkswagen an even more attractive employer. Employees will receive greater possibilities for mobile working, for example because they can decide for themselves where they want to work outside their plant. Work performed by an employee occasionally or on fixed days outside his or her plant will be considered to be mobile work. Employees will be able to divide their work flexibly between their plant and other locations.
These are the key points of the works agreement:
Voluntary nature of mobile work for both parties: Participation in mobile work is voluntary. Neither the company nor the employee will be able to insist on an employee performing mobile work.
Suitable work: The employee’s work must be suitable for mobile working. In other words, it must be possible for the employee to be absent from his or her workplace at the plant without impairing the results of the work, company processes or contact with the company.
Working time: An employee’s individual weekly working time will remain unaffected in the case of mobile working. Times at which the company must be able to contact the employee will be agreed on the basis of company and private requirements. Outside the agreed times, the employee is entitled to be unavailable for contacts.
Rights of the Works Council: The codetermination rights of the Works Council remain unaffected. The rights of the Works Council must already be taken into consideration in the application procedure for mobile working.