New Trade Union Founded at Volkswagen Slovakia

Unionists at Volkswagen Slovakia led by Zoroslav Smolinský have already founded a new trade union to which members of the original OZ KOVO trade union branch have started to switch, TASR learnt on Thursday. OZ KOVO decided to scrap Volkswagen's original trade union branch on Tuesday. Smolinský sees this step as an approach to take control over his trade union as well as efforts to gain possession of its assets. The new trade union was founded on September 18 due to persisting conflicts with OZ KOVO chairman Emil Machyna. The trade union branch at Volkswagen is the largest in Slovakia, with 78 percent of the around 11,000-strong workforce as members. OZ KOVO claims that every basic trade union branch must respect valid rules and regulations.