COLOGNE - The management
and central works council of Ford-Werke GmbH (Ford of Germany) have
signed an agreement securing vehicle assembly in the Cologne and
Saarlouis plants for the next five years.
Under the terms
of the agreement, which affects all 24,000 Ford-Werke GmbH
employees, the company has agreed that the Ford Fiesta and
Ford Fusion models will continue to be built in the Cologne
plant and that production of the Ford Focus range also continues
in Saarlouis.
Additionally
Ford-Werke GmbH has re-affirmed its policy of avoiding compulsory
workforce redundancies for the duration of the agreement.
The works council has
in turn agreed that Ford-Werke GmbH employee wage rates will, over
the period of the agreement, move closer to the national automotive
industry 'tariff'. Currently Ford employees are paid rates higher
than the tariff.
The Chairman of the managing
board of Ford-Werke GmbH, Bernhard Mattes, praised the willingness of employee
union representatives to work together with management during the negotiations.
"This agreement demonstrates that despite the difficult business conditions
prevailing in Germany, ways can be found to produce automobiles competitively
in this country."
Dieter Hinkelmann, chairman
of the central works council, characterised the agreement as an important
contribution towards preserving Ford jobs both in Cologne and Saarlouis.
"Above all, the exclusion of compulsory redundancies will provide staff,
their families and the business communities in Cologne and Saarlouis with
a degree of economic security for the next five years," he said.
