Vestas workers in Germany are resuming strike action after talks between the turbine manufacturer and the union IG Metall broke down
After 73 days of strikes, IG Metall and Vestas began holding negotiations in March which were expected to wrap up by the end of that month.
However, after both sides could not reach an agreement, the 250 workers represented by IG Metall resumed strike action.
“Taking offers off the table from one day to the next does not meet our expectations of a reliable negotiating partner,” said managing director of IG Metall Rendsburg Martin Bitter.
He added: “The demands for good pay and working conditions are justified. The employees deserve to be treated on an equal footing.”
A spokesperson for Vestas Deutschland said the company “deeply regrets” to announce that IG Metall has “informed us to stop the talks” and has restarted striking, adding that the union’s demands were “simply not reasonable”.
The spokesperson said: “We brought forward a generous offer which was not accepted, and our following counterproposals were not recognised by IG Metall. These proposals were done in the best interest of all our employees.
“IG Metall represents a minority of our colleagues; there are less than 15% of Vestas Deutschland colleagues on strike. The company is still interested in finding a shared solution.”