Sector 18, in the historic building of the Volkswagen (VW) factory in Wolfsburg (Lower Saxony), is one of the high places of power for “made in Germany”. This is where the Betriebsrati.e. the works council, of VW, a kind of state within the state of the first German industrial group, and a bastion of the big industrial union, IG Metall (2.2 million of members).
A body with no global equivalent, without which nothing is decided at the car manufacturer with 630,000 employees worldwide. Since the spring of 2021, a woman has chaired the powerful committee, for the first time in its seventy-five-year history. Daniela Cavallo, 47, is leading wage negotiations for VW’s 295,000 workers in Germany, which began on October 25. IG Metall is calling for an 8% increase this year, due to high inflation.
While the employers agitate the risk of deindustrialization, these negotiations are a test of credibility for the one who has already overcome several ordeals by fire since taking office: a spectacular conflict with Herbert Diess, then boss of the group, who ended with the dismissal of the manager in July; and a challenge, in court, of his election to the presidency, by a competing union list, for the moment without effect.
“Do not underestimate Daniela Cavallo”, warned us several (male) observers of the group, impressed by his pugnacity. Should we understand that the first impression can deceive? Long brown hair, flexible tailor and affable smile, the interested party certainly does not have the austere and sometimes belligerent style of her predecessors in this position. And in particular that of his mentor, Bernd Osterloh, president of the Betriebsrat with a volcanic and uninviting character, like the World saw this during a meeting in 2012.
more collective power
What then confirms the cliché that the VW behemoth could only be directed in an authoritarian manner. “I never avoid conflicts, when they are necessary”, explains M.me Cavallo at World, during a rare interview. After several boss-emperors, and the rigged engine scandal of 2015, the new generation at the head of VW now sees the exercise of power as a less dictatorial and more collective exercise.
“Permanent confrontation does not move us forward, points out Gunnar Kilian, group human resources director, who previously worked closely with her in the Betriebrat. I think this way of thinking applies wholeheartedly to both Daniela Cavallo and Oliver Blume. [nouveau patron du groupe] than to myself. To reach compromises together, the exchanges must be frank and carried out in trust. »
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