EEF Leaflet - status of negotiations in Antwerp

From the beginning of the Delta “site selection process” it was the original plan of General Motors Europe to close the Antwerp plant ignoring the fact that it has been an excellent plant in terms of productivity, quality and “Harbour hours” (hours which are needed to build a car). Nevertheless, European solidarity, the strategy of the EEF and the local unions as well as the ability of the Antwerp workforce to fight back led to a commitment of General Motors Europe to give the Antwerp plant a future at least until 2016. It includes two exclusive models (SUV) for the European market with a volume of 120.000 units per year for the Antwerp plant - start of production will be in 2010 after the run out of the current Astra – and an obligation to negotiate a third model with additional volume in 2009. Based on a “letter of intent” of the unions in Antwerp, the EEF and the local unions have currently talks with Management on the following main issues:

• How can the plant be run efficiently for the production of the new models?
• How much will workers receive leaving the plant on a voluntary basis or early retirement?
• How can the plant keep on working on a 3-shift operation which covers the run out of the
Astra, the production start of the new models and a potential third model to be decided in
2009?

At the moment the workers at the Antwerp plant have mixed emotions, there is fear of the future and a lot of frustration. Two main groups can be distinguished:

• One group wants to know how much money they will get when they leave the company
during the next months and if there is an option for early retirement before the new
Belgian government will worsen the conditions by a new law.
• The other group is wondering how secure their future will be if they stay in the plant. The
workers who want to stay know one thing for sure: They will definitely not accept unpaid
down days during the rest of the life cycle of the current Astra. Therefore the EEF
demands a fair capacity utilization for all current Delta plants.

It is now the task of the local unions in Antwerp and the General Motors European Employee Forum (EEF) to stay the course and to focus on solving the open issues concerning the future of the plant and the workers in the best possible way. Nobody should forget that on April 17th in Brussels General Motors Europe and its President Carl-Peter Forster gave the promise to keep Antwerp open with new models. Everybody who is questioning this commitment and the future of the plant is running the risk of discussing a self-fulfilling prophecy which allows GM management not to keep their promise. Let us instead rather jointly work on solving the open issues to give the plant and its current workforce the best possible future.