Union: Allianz forced protest cancellation
Germany’s biggest trade union has accused insurance giant Allianz of making a multi-million euro payment to help laid-off workers conditional on the union calling off a protest rally.
IG Metall, which represents workers at the collapsed Manroland printing press producer, said Allianz told union officials it would only release €17 million meant to finance lay-offs if the union cancelled a planned protest against Allianz and another former owner, MAN, the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) said on Thursday.
Although IG Metall said agreed to the deal – and called off the protest planned for Friday in Munich, it complained about it in a flyer seen by the FTD. A spokesman for IG Metall confirmed the flyer was accurate.
But Allianz denied the allegations, telling the paper its contribution to the €24 million pot financed by it and other Manroland owner MAN, was unconditional.
The collapse of the 6,500-employee Manroland has been a messy and uncertain one, with reports that mass layoffs could happen at the beginning of February when the company’s restructuring process is set to expire.
Insolvency administrator Werner Schneider told the FTD that several outside firms had expressed interest in helping finance the company’s recovery.
The Local/mdm
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IG Metall, which represents workers at the collapsed Manroland printing press producer, said Allianz told union officials it would only release €17 million meant to finance lay-offs if the union cancelled a planned protest against Allianz and another former owner, MAN, the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) said on Thursday.
Although IG Metall said agreed to the deal – and called off the protest planned for Friday in Munich, it complained about it in a flyer seen by the FTD. A spokesman for IG Metall confirmed the flyer was accurate.
But Allianz denied the allegations, telling the paper its contribution to the €24 million pot financed by it and other Manroland owner MAN, was unconditional.
The collapse of the 6,500-employee Manroland has been a messy and uncertain one, with reports that mass layoffs could happen at the beginning of February when the company’s restructuring process is set to expire.
Insolvency administrator Werner Schneider told the FTD that several outside firms had expressed interest in helping finance the company’s recovery.
The Local/mdm
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