A Serbian assembly line worker from Fiat’s Kragujevac plant has reportedly vandalized 31 half-assembled 500L MPVs with a screwdriver. The worker scratched curse words and offensive messages on the cars’ bodies.
The exact content of the messages was not disclosed, but it appears the curses were aimed at the management of the plant, including the general manager and the workers’ Italian supervisors. Recently there have been tensions between management and workers as parts shortages delayed production, with trade unions saying workers had been forced to work long hours and had been denied cigarette breaks.
“It is believed that a single man damaged the cars because the message’s handwriting is the same. This is probably due to tough conditions under which the workers operate, the younger ones can bear it but it is very difficult for the older ones. They work in three shifts, under great pressure from management, and the average monthly wage is 34,000 dinars [about $400]),” Zoran Mihajlovic, the president of Fiat Automobili Srbija’s trade union, told Croatian newspaper Istinito.
Fiat has launched an investigation to find out the identity of the worker who vandalized the 500Ls, which will have to be dismantled and be painted again.
By Dan Mihalascu
Story References: Leftlane
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