Mass strike: Exploring the balance between rights and development in the game

In the magnificent development of the automobile industry, Volkswagen Group plays an important role, but in recent years, the "Volkswagen strike" has frequently broken into the public view and become the focus of hot discussion. In contrast, many similar phenomena inside and outside the industry contain different underlying logic and far-reaching impact, which is worth our careful analysis.

The most immediate cause of the mass strike is the issue of pay and working hours. In Germany, where VW is based, workers have a strong union tradition, demanding higher wages to keep pace with soaring prices and resisting further longer working hours and increased labor intensity. When negotiations at the negotiating table break down, stoppage production becomes the last "weapon" of the workers. Factory lines come to a screeching halt, new car deliveries are delayed, companies up and down the supply chain are suffering, dealers have no cars to sell, and revenues are plummeting. Car companies are in deep trouble, losing tens of millions of euros a day, and brand reputations are clouded by delivery delays.

In contrast, Apple Inc., in the field of technology, although there is no large-scale strike, there is a different kind of "human struggle." Apple's factories are spread around the world and have been exposed to problems such as excessive overtime and poor working conditions. The difference is that the foundry workers have a weak voice and are difficult to organize strikes, which are mostly exposed by the media and the intervention of public welfare organizations, prompting Apple to rectify the supply chain. Apple is facing public criticism, affecting sales and brand image; Volkswagen is a real internal production stagnation, impacting the current operation. Behind this is the difference in the characteristics of the industry, car manufacturing heavy assets, complex processes, relying on local skilled workers; The foundry of scientific and technological products is scattered, easy to transfer, and the substitution of workers is strong.

Look at the express industry, couriers did not launch a strike in the traditional sense, but "collective resignation" and "post stoppage" occurred from time to time. The root cause is that the distribution fee is too low, the fine is too heavy, and the meager income forms a sharp contradiction with the high-intensity sorting and distribution. Volkswagen workers strike, trade unions participate in the whole process, the appeal is clear; The couriers mostly voted with their feet in silent protest. As a result, the VW strike prompted firms to return to the negotiating table and renegotiate pay packages; The chaos of the express delivery industry depends on policy adjustment and platform self-examination and self-correction, which takes a long time and is difficult to implement.

The mass strike is not just negative. In the long term, this is an opportunity for companies to recalibrate their partnerships with their employees. After each strike, Volkswagen often invests money to upgrade production lines, introduce more humane working patterns, improve employee satisfaction, and indirectly promote technological innovation; Higher wages for employees and increased spending power will help boost the local economy. In contrast, some emerging Internet companies blindly pursue high-speed expansion, the normalization of 996 work system, employees are physically and mentally exhausted, and the turnover rate is high, seemingly saving labor costs, but actually losing innovation vitality and corporate cohesion.

Enterprises and employees are symbionts, and reasonable profit distribution is a solid foundation. The mass strike has sounded the alarm for all enterprises, ignoring the demands of employees, saving money in the short term and burying big mines in the long term; Irrational strikes by employees will also cost their jobs and affect their peers. In the future development, the enterprise should establish a normal communication mechanism, and the trade union should guide the demands appropriately to resolve the contradictions in the bud; Employees improve their professional quality, so that they become indispensable talents in the enterprise, and hold the negotiating confidence.

Through the window of the mass strike, we can see the contradiction and reconciliation between employees and enterprises in different industries and different modes. Under the tide of globalization and intelligence, only by learning from experience and finding the balance between rights and benefits can all parties move forward steadily in the complex and changing market, continue to write the chapter of industry prosperity, and reap win-win results.