Volkswagen subsidiary in Portugal approves salary increase

Workers at Autoeuropa, a Portugal division of the German Volkswagen company, have approved a 1.5-percent pay increase for all its employees on Tuesday at its plant at Palmela, Portugal.

"This company accord, approved on Tuesday by the workers, is yet another contribution to maintaining jobs," said Autoeuropa coordinator Antonio Chora.

More than three quarters of the total 2,483 employees voted in favor of the deal, which is guaranteed through September, 2016 for all Autoeuropa employees.

"Guaranteeing the protection of jobs was the most difficult part of this agreement," said Chora.

Chora admitted that the new priority for the company is finding things to do for employees until the new Volkswagen model is sent to the plant for production.

Autoeuropa is located at the town of Palmela, south of Lisbon, and it is the largest car exporter in Portugal.

The pay increases at Autoeuropa came amid an international emissions scandal which brought major cutbacks at the Volkswagen parent company in Germany.

The Volkswagen scandal broke out on Sept. 18 after the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Violation of Clean Air Act to the German carmaker.

Volkswagen has since completely acknowledged that they had manipulated the vehicle emission tests.

The Volkswagen Group has said that as many as 11 million cars may be affected, including 94,000 cars in Portugal. Endi