After an unproductive meeting on Wednesday with the Audi Brussels management, trade unions have said they will be taking the carmaker to court over leaving employees "locked out" of the Forest factory and unpaid.
Relations are increasingly tense between workers and management at the Brussels site, which has been at a standstill for almost two months amid uncertainty about potential closure and the loss of around 3,000 jobs.
In July, Audi Brussels officially announced plans to restructure the site in Forest, citing a slowdown in demand for the electric Q8 e-tron models produced in Brussels, as well as "long-standing structural challenges" with the site.
If no buyer is found and the Audi Brussels plant closes, around 1,500 jobs could be lost as soon as October, with over 1,100 additional redundancies next year. The final layoffs could happen at the end of 2025.
A meeting held on Wednesday at the Federal Department for Economy and Employment yielded little progress.
As reported by Belga, Audi Brussels management said they hoped for production to get back to "normal" by Thursday (in terms of volume and quality of production) but unions said this was "unrealistic", and that there should be a more gradual return to work.
A spokesperson for federal Economy and Employment Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne said that his department would not comment on the result of Wednesday's meeting, as they "want to give as much chance as possible for consultation".
Workers left in limbo
Speaking to The Brussels Times, President of the Federation of Brabant Metalworkers (FGTB) Najar Lahouari said that workers are feeling unmotivated and worried about the future.
"Management tell us that they are in discussion with several investors, but we have 4,000 workers here in total [which Lahouari says includes people indirectly employed by Audi's activities in Brussels]. Are the investors ready to take on 4,000 people?" he said.
Car tyres set up to resemble the Audi logo are set alight outside of the Audi Brussels plant, in Vorst-Forest, Brussels, Monday 09 September 2024. Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
"Workers are not motivated anymore. We don’t have any clue about what will happen in the future. Every day that passes, you don't know what to say to your family. If we don’t have any solution, it will be the complete closure of the company," he added.
Unions assert that workers are not currently engaging in a strike, but rather have been "locked out" of the factory by management and prevented from working. They announced on Wednesday that they would be legally contesting the lockout, as well as appointing a mediator as part of a social conciliation procedure.
Last week, workers seized the keys to 200 new cars produced at the site, saying they would be returned when there was clarification about the future of the company.
Unions returned the keys to management on Tuesday, which Lahouari said was a goodwill gesture towards "consultation and dialogue".
"We decided to give back the 200 keys, so this problem about the keys is forgotten by us and by the management," he said.
MPs to visit Audi Brussels site
While Audi Brussels previously refused a request for a parliamentary visit to the Forest plant, it was also confirmed on Wednesday that a parliamentary delegation will visit Audi Brussels next week, on 18th September.
In a press release, Belgium's Worker's Party (PTB) claimed that it successfully put pressure on the company to reverse its decision, and the meeting was confirmed in writing on Sunday.
"Thanks to pressure from the PTB, which wanted to summon Audi's management to Parliament as a matter of urgency, the company changed its mind about the visit,’ said MP Nabil Boukili (PTB). He added that the PTB hopes to involve workers and their trade unions in the visit.
Workers gathered outside of the Audi Brussels plant on Monday 09 September 2024. Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
The PTB hopes that "those who know the production line best will be able to tell us about their workplace and the need to keep it open to guarantee our country's industrial future", said Boukili.
An ‘order of business’ meeting of the Chamber's Economy Committee will also take place on that day, the party added.
National demonstration on Monday
Meanwhile, spurred by the ongoing situation at Audi Brussels, a group of unions are organising a national, cross-sector demonstration in Brussels on Monday 16th September. It is expected that thousands will turn up for the march.
Under the collective banner of FGTB-CSC-CGSLB, trade unions will be calling for EU regulators to protect indigenous European industry, as they march from Brussels-North Station at 10:3oam and head towards Luxembourg Square for speeches.
