Tesla Is Allegedly Withholding Wages Of German Employees On Sick Leave
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Even if the German courts rule in their favor (they should), good luck getting any money out of Tesla.
Good luck with trying to evade payments.
I don't know how things work in Germany but here in Finland we have an government agency which pays salaries if company can't or won't as a safeguard for employees. After that they go after the company with pretty beefy lawsuits which eventually say that either the company pays for the salaries and some extra for the trouble or government just seizes and sells enough property that they get what they're owed. And if company doesn't have money nor property then it'll go bankrupt and that's it. I assume Germany (and most of the other European countries) have similar mechanisms.
And then there's of course the union too. They can just decide to either stop coming to work altogether or go in a 'sitting strike', as in show up but don't do anything during the day. And they can enforce that, you can't just hire new people to replace those on strike.
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Even if the German courts rule in their favor (they should), good luck getting any money out of Tesla.
What are you talking about? They have infrastructure in Germany. They can’t just hide on US land.
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Good luck with trying to evade payments.
I don't know how things work in Germany but here in Finland we have an government agency which pays salaries if company can't or won't as a safeguard for employees. After that they go after the company with pretty beefy lawsuits which eventually say that either the company pays for the salaries and some extra for the trouble or government just seizes and sells enough property that they get what they're owed. And if company doesn't have money nor property then it'll go bankrupt and that's it. I assume Germany (and most of the other European countries) have similar mechanisms.
And then there's of course the union too. They can just decide to either stop coming to work altogether or go in a 'sitting strike', as in show up but don't do anything during the day. And they can enforce that, you can't just hire new people to replace those on strike.
Most unions have enough reserves to take Tezzla to court for a while.
And in the worst/best case, a judge could impound things for damages/payment.
The union could literally end up owning the factory if Keto EMu keeps doubling down on it.
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I read a German article a few days ago. They definitely threatened to withhold wages. They also pressured workers into disclosing their health info. Via email.
The Unions are (orders of magnitude) more active than in other comparable workplaces.
Oh and of course TESLA does not like people being in unions in the first place.
I hope they rip Elon a big fat fancy new hole in his net wealth. Alas, someone, cue me the tiniest of violins
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What are you talking about? They have infrastructure in Germany. They can’t just hide on US land.
Bold of you to assume I'm expressing defeatism. My point is that Tesla can and will fight it. They'll lose eventually, sure. My hope is that the union has enough money to pay the court costs.
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They can put a lien on the factory if nothing else
I hope they do. Germany should go back to producing das richtig Nazi Auto.
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Good luck with trying to evade payments.
I don't know how things work in Germany but here in Finland we have an government agency which pays salaries if company can't or won't as a safeguard for employees. After that they go after the company with pretty beefy lawsuits which eventually say that either the company pays for the salaries and some extra for the trouble or government just seizes and sells enough property that they get what they're owed. And if company doesn't have money nor property then it'll go bankrupt and that's it. I assume Germany (and most of the other European countries) have similar mechanisms.
And then there's of course the union too. They can just decide to either stop coming to work altogether or go in a 'sitting strike', as in show up but don't do anything during the day. And they can enforce that, you can't just hire new people to replace those on strike.
I always forget that in Europe, the government actually pursues fines and penalties levied against companies. Must be nice.
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Bold of you to assume I'm expressing defeatism. My point is that Tesla can and will fight it. They'll lose eventually, sure. My hope is that the union has enough money to pay the court costs.
The German government given the current environment with musk will likely get involved if it goes there
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Germany should immediately seize all of Tesla's accounts there and pay the workers on sick leave out of those funds.
If we somehow do that I will be more upset, considering how long it takes to seize the property of Russian oligarchs here.
No, German way is to take this to court.
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I’m starting to think the Tesla CEO isn’t a good person.
I can excuse being a Nazi, but workers rights is where I draw the line.
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Good luck with trying to evade payments.
I don't know how things work in Germany but here in Finland we have an government agency which pays salaries if company can't or won't as a safeguard for employees. After that they go after the company with pretty beefy lawsuits which eventually say that either the company pays for the salaries and some extra for the trouble or government just seizes and sells enough property that they get what they're owed. And if company doesn't have money nor property then it'll go bankrupt and that's it. I assume Germany (and most of the other European countries) have similar mechanisms.
And then there's of course the union too. They can just decide to either stop coming to work altogether or go in a 'sitting strike', as in show up but don't do anything during the day. And they can enforce that, you can't just hire new people to replace those on strike.
Tesla is overtly hostile towards German unions and has convinced enough workers to not join any. They have mostly hired foreign workers who are unaware of their rights. Additionally, workers are pressured to sign documents withdrawing from their right to compensation during sick leave which isn't illegal.
Also, the state government of Brandenburg - the location of the Tesla factory - would rather see worker's rights trampled than Tesla face consequences. Their future election results depend on Tesla performing.
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This is highly illegal and should be quite easy to win in court.
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Tesla is overtly hostile towards German unions and has convinced enough workers to not join any. They have mostly hired foreign workers who are unaware of their rights. Additionally, workers are pressured to sign documents withdrawing from their right to compensation during sick leave which isn't illegal.
Also, the state government of Brandenburg - the location of the Tesla factory - would rather see worker's rights trampled than Tesla face consequences. Their future election results depend on Tesla performing.
That’s disheartening to hear. At least Tesla has to sell cars to even stick around and it doesn’t look good for them in Europe so far.
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I hope they rip Elon a big fat fancy new hole in his net wealth. Alas, someone, cue me the tiniest of violins
Germany needs to ban Tesla from their country as a whole. Confiscate the assets and continue to pay the workers until they're relocated or another company buys the factories.
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I’m starting to think the Tesla CEO isn’t a good person.
I know the scriptures say "judge not lest yea be judged", but I'm just gonna come out and say it. This guy is a real jerk!
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I read a German article a few days ago. They definitely threatened to withhold wages. They also pressured workers into disclosing their health info. Via email.
The Unions are (orders of magnitude) more active than in other comparable workplaces.
Oh and of course TESLA does not like people being in unions in the first place.
It is not only the unions, it is the law in Germany. Americans have a hard time understanding the immense power of the law protecting employees here. Withholding sick payment is about as illegal as demanding health info. Both will be easy wins in court. Tesla will find themselves in a place of legal hurt.
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Even if the German courts rule in their favor (they should), good luck getting any money out of Tesla.
They don't need to.
Wage theft is a felony and while primarily will focus on the managing director of Tesla Germany GmbH, there is a good chance they will throw Elon under bus or the DA/Police/customs (especially the later have very far reaching rights in these cases and specialised departments...and now the old secretary of finance who was a trump fan is gone...) finds evidence that it happened under the influence of ELMO or his cronies (which is not that unlikely), there are a lot of people who would be very very happy to issue a warrant on these people.
And that very likely would be an Interpol warrant.Nevertheless the truly interesting thing is something else: Law enforcement can use this felonies to move in on Tesla - and anything they find due to a search warrant can easily be used for other things. And considering that the state Tesla is located in is suffering from a major draught and tries to prove that Tesla is using far more ground water than they are allowed for ages (and pollutes the rest) that could in theory even mean the downsizing or even the end of the Giga factory.
Hehehe.
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If we somehow do that I will be more upset, considering how long it takes to seize the property of Russian oligarchs here.
No, German way is to take this to court.
Fair enough.
