After fruitless talks with the restructuring German telco, union Ver.di says walkouts over wage cuts and poor working conditions are unavoidableGermany's Ver.di trade union is planning the biggest strike since the privatization of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom. It wants to meet with Telekom's business customers in an effort to force the company to yield to its demands.
It was meant to be a show of strength, but it ended up achieving precisely the opposite effect. When CEO René Obermann stepped onto the stage in the Cologne Arena last Thursday to address the shareholders' meeting of Europe's largest telephone company, Deutsche Telekom AG, he hoped to convince shareholders, in a speech lasting more than an hour, that the communications giant has a bright future -- if everyone plays along, that is.
His appeal was directed at the shareholders, management and, most of all, the company's rebellious employees. As a sign of good will, Obermann said, he would take the first step himself and "as chief executive, live up to my special responsibility and give up two months of my base salary." That comes to about €200,000 ($270,000) that the company's CEO says he will contribute to planned annual cost savings of up to €4.7 billion ($6.3 billion).
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