Oct 15 Reuters The second round of collective bargaining negotiations between Volkswagen and the IG Metall union will take place on October 30 in Wolfsburg, where the company is headquartered, the two sides said on Tuesday.

The previous round of wage talks at Europe39;s biggest carmaker, which has flagged possible plant closures in Germany, ended without agreement and the union has threatened with strikes from December.

Enough time has now passed since the first negotiations for the management board to do its homework, IG Metall39;s negotiator Thorsten Groeger said in a statement, adding that more than 3,000 workers are ready to act.

The union expects Volkswagen to present a master plan for the next decade that will ensure employment and capacity utilisation at the plants.

During the previous round, Volkswagen rejected IG Metall39;s demands for a pay increase of 7 and a basic payment of 170 euros for apprentices and working students.

Only by achieving sustainable cost savings we can invest in new technologies and secure jobs in the long term, said VW39;s lead negotiator Arne Meiswinkel after the first round of talks.

Reporting by Andrey Sychev, Editing by Rachel More

Source Reuters