The workers of the Leskovac-based factory of Aptiv, a British manufacturer of car components, are allegedly working in catastrophic conditions.
The workers are not paid overtime and working on weekends, and the wages in the Leskovac factory are lower thaabn in the company’s Novi Sad plant. In addition, working hours frequently change overnight.
“The biggest problem stems from the unexpected and sudden changes in working hours,” said Božidar Todorović from the Metalworkers’ Trade Union.
The production dynamics at Aptiv’s plant changes frequently by short-term work orders, as does the volume of work on a daily basis. “As a result, the management often modifies the work schedule by cancelling working days and rescheduling work on weekends, when necessary,” Todorović explained.
However, the employer is obliged to pay the employee 60% of the daily wage for each workday cancelled in less than 48 hours, and 126% of the daily wage for working on a Saturday. This would mean that, for example, a workday “moved” from Thursday to Saturday would cost Aptiv 186% more per worker.
The factory management chose to ignore this obligation, and change the working hours as they sit fit, without having to pay workers more. These payroll irregularities are always to the detriment of the workers.
Finally, the trade union draws attention to Aptiv recently reorganizing breaks so that workers are now entitled to only one break instead of two breaks with a total duration of half an hour. In a situation involving hard physical work, this has a direct and negative effect on the workers.
Also, the trade union notes that they are large wage gaps between Aptiv’s workers in Novi Sad and those in Leskovac.
(Luftika, 16.02.2022)
https://luftika.rs/aptiv-leskovac/
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