Tesla (TSLA.O) has been chastised by the German union IG Metall and lawmakers for alleged unreasonable working hours and worries of workers speaking out at its Brandenburg plant, with some pushing for investigations into the company.
IG Metall, which has an office near the plant and claims to be in regular contact with workers, claimed at its annual news conference that a growing percentage reported longer working hours with little spare time.
Workers were also increasingly afraid of discussing their working circumstances openly due to non-disclosure agreements they were required to sign along with their work contracts, according to IG Metall.
A recent job posting on Tesla’s career website for a “Security Intelligence Investigator” who will work with legal and human resources departments to collect “on-the-ground information both within and beyond Tesla walls in order to safeguard the company from threats” fueled these fears.
“Workers started at Tesla with great enthusiasm for the project. Over time we are observing that this enthusiasm is withering,” Irene Schulz of IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Sachsen said in a statement.
“Tesla is not doing enough to improve working conditions and is leaving too little time for leisure, family and recovery.”
Tesla was not immediately available for comment.
Tesla China has also asked some staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Reuters found several people on LinkedIn with the title of “Security Intelligence Investigator” working for Tesla in Austin, San Francisco and Shanghai.
German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Monday that local politicians from the centre-left SPD to the centre-right CDU expressed concern about the allegations, calling for inquiries both by Tesla and the local government.
“The state government of Brandenburg must enforce occupational safety through close controls at Tesla,” Christian Baeumler of the Christian Democrats (CDU) said to Handelsblatt.
The Brandenburg government was not immediately available for comment.
reuters
