A united workforce at Volkswagen’s Bratislava plant won higher wage increases than proposed by management after a six-day strike that concluded Monday, June 26. Reuters news agency reported that the agreement reached by the Modern Union Volkswagen (MOV) and Volkswagen Slovakia (VW SK) resulted in a 4.7% wage increase effective immediately, another 4.7% increase in January 2018, 4.1% in November 2018, and a 500 Euro bonus as of June 1, 2017. Union leader Zoroslav Smolinsky said the combined effect of the increases totals 14.12% with the bonus factored in. Volkswagen’s proposed wage hikes totaled 8.7% before the strike was called June 20.
“We’re ending the strike with a very successful negotiation. We managed to agree on a combined wage hike of 14.12 percent by November 2018, “ Smolinsky said. “I would like to thank all of those who participated in the strike, as well as those who supported it,” he added. “Without their effort, we would not achieve this success.”