A Brazilian court said on Tuesday it would rule on the legality of a car workers strike at a Volkswagen factory on Thursday, delaying its decision for two more days after failing to mediate an end to the dispute, Reuters reported.
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The news agency said that about 14,800 workers at the VW Anchieta plant in Sao Paulo’s industrial belt walked off the job last Wednesday to demand a pay raise, halting production at the factory and cutting off the flow of parts to another VW unit in the nearby town of Taubate.
Thousands of workers at other car companies such as Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Scania also went on strike last week, but returned to work after winning an 18.1% pay raise to compensate for inflation over the past year, the report added.
Reuters said VW has so far refused to budge from its initial offer of a 15.7% raise, pitting it against the powerful ABC Metalworkers Union once led by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“The judge tried to negotiate an end to the strike, but the attempt failed because Volkswagen remains intransigent,” a union spokeswoman told Reuters.
