“It took about ten days to convince, or even force, the management to receive the parliament. The national parliament is a national representation, you don’t just slam the door in its face like that.“, insists Denis Ducarme, MR deputy and president of the Social Affairs Commission in the Chamber.
“We had to go for it with teeth. I think Audi didn’t want to for fear of negative publicity, but Audi is responsible for this negative publicity. When you want to close the site to set up in Mexico, obviously there are reactions, whatever the party. From the left as well as the right. Especially when there has been so much public aid“, he continues.
Gregory Dascotte, permanent secretary of the FGTB, took the opportunity to say that “It was Robert D’Amico (PTB), chairman of the Economy Committee in the House, who forced the management to receive the delegation. They are running after it, among the liberals…”
“We have a management team that plays the role of eternal crybabies. And with the De Wever-Bouchez note, the worst is to be feared”
“It’s taxpayers’ money, it has to change. We have to remain competitive in market practices. Europe must protect itself more from social and wage dumping compared to multinationals. These companies move sites like we change our student accommodation. It’s not good. If you accept aid, you have to stay and stabilise employment. We can discuss these issues in a cross-party manner“, continues Denis Ducarme nevertheless.
quotation mark“Traditional politicians tend to bow down to multinationals…”
On the PTB side, Raoul Hedebouw and Nabil Boukili also came to the site and are talking with the workers. “It’s always the same story: there are a lot of subsidies given to large groups, with a million hours of training here at Audi, then we close down… It’s time for Europe to take matters in hand”begins the president of the PTB, who also argues, like almost all the MPs present whom we interviewed, that the conditions negotiated for Audi workers must also be applied to the dozen subcontractors who only have Audi as a customer and the 1,500 workers who depend directly on them. They who swell the ranks of the 2,900 direct positions threatened by the closure of the Audi site. According to Raoul Hedebouw, the Renault law can be modified fairly quickly. Let us recall that work resumed on Tuesday on the site, the day after the national demonstration of September 16.
“But it takes political will for it to be voted on. However, traditional politicians tend to bow down to multinationals… But we can change things.“, he says. And do the upcoming elections risk blocking the discussions?”On the contrary, the local elections encourage negotiations because they force politicians to listen to workers. But we will have to see later“, he advances, with a critical eye on the liberal parties, without naming them.
quotation mark“It is deeply abnormal that Audi receives millions of euros in aid without any compensation. Belgium was perhaps too naive”
On the Défi side, former president François De Smet is also present. “We need to help the workers in the three affected Regions. This is a national tragedy. And we must not forget the subcontractors, who are essential to the Belgian economy. I think that an industrial future in Europe is possible and Belgium has assets, such as the Forest site. But we need to act quickly, while two governments are in day-to-day business. But for that to happen, the petty political games need to stop.” he says. “It is deeply abnormal that Audi receives millions of euros in aid without any compensation. And there is no return on investment. Belgium was perhaps too naive” he concludes.
For Grégory Dascotte, from the FGTB, the delegation’s visit is a good thing, but he remains lucid.The priority is to change this Renault law. The elections make politicians pay attention, but we fear that after October 13, we won’t see them anymore. Besides, the MR still hasn’t understood that it’s not just a question of salary costs. Personnel costs only represent 8% of the cost price of the car. This is a verified figure. But Volkswagen is playing a harmful game, by charging Audi Forest more for spare parts and thus transferring profits to the parent company in Germany.“, he explains. Which would make the Belgian site less profitable, according to him.
Audi: more than twenty “business models” on the table, a new CEO, but what concrete avenues?
“It’s unfortunate. They make money off our backs, we cost 6-7 euros less per hour than Audi employees. (who earn around 21 euros gross per hour at the start of their career, Editor’s note) and we cannot take advantage of a social plan. Everyone must be treated the same“, specifies Saïd Benali, FGTB delegate present this Wednesday.
“They spent an hour showing us around this factory, showing us how technologically advanced it is and how well trained and efficient the workers are. Then they took twenty minutes explaining to us… that they want to close the company. The Contradictions of Capitalism“, declared Raoul Hedebouw at the end of the visit, while the members of the PTB and the PS left the site before the rest of the delegation.”The employers have not answered any of our questions (…), it is impressively cold, it is terrifying“, he declared on the microphone of LN24. “I am angry. They presented us with a PowerPoint that was an indictment against the factory.”concluded Khalil Ouasti (PS) to our colleagues.
