In Germany Tesla retains the salaries of the sick employees

The climate in the German plant of the Tesla near Berlin It is deteriorating because of the corporate practices that target employees absent due to illness. The union denounced him Ig metal. Tesla led by the billionaire Elon Musk often puts back the retroactively i employee medical certificates, Asking them to reveal their diagnosis and to give up medical confidentiality, the union said in a note. Often then the salary is retained, without taking into account the attachment thresholds, and the employer puts the employees under pressure, invoking “debts” due to alleged “sovereign”, encouraging them to sign a consensual termination agreement without leaving any period of reflection.

Legal appeals

In the only European “Gigafactory” of the Tesla grinding the Berlinwhere more than 11,000 employees work, affiliates toIg metal “They resort to legal protection about 21 times more often than the average,” reports the union. According to a spokesperson forIg metalit would be “numerous” appeals even without wanting to specify the number. Cited by the tabloid Bildthe management of the Tesla It speaks of a dozen cases per month. “Talking about a mass action in this case is a deliberate distortion of reality,” said the company, who did not respond to the requests for commenting on Afp. Second Dirk Schulze regional manager of Ig metal, Tesla He must “immediately end this practice”, which he considers “not very serious, inhuman” and “counterproductive”. “We do not fight high absenteeism by exerting pressure on employees, but improving working conditions,” he adds.

Absenteeism and home visits

Factory absenteeism reached 17%, pushing the management of the Tesla to visit employees at home without notice. Although the move was not welcomed very well, these practices have contributed to reducing the 9%absenteeism rate, said a manager Tesla in Germania mentioned by Handelsblatt in December.

Tensions and automotive market

The tension is born while Tesla He has lost land in the German car market since January, despite the increase in enrollment of electric vehicles. Elon Musk was criticized in Germania for his support for the far -right party AfD in the recent parliamentary elections. Four cars Tesla they caught fire to Berlin in the night between Thursday and Friday; The police spoke of a possible “political reason”.