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EU to Assess if Apple's iPad OS Complies With Bloc's Tech Rules

30 October 2024, US, New York: The Apple store is pictured on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
30 October 2024, US, New York: The Apple store is pictured on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
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EU to Assess if Apple's iPad OS Complies With Bloc's Tech Rules

30 October 2024, US, New York: The Apple store is pictured on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)
30 October 2024, US, New York: The Apple store is pictured on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. (dpa)

EU antitrust regulators will assess whether Apple's operating system for iPads comply with the bloc's landmark rules aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech, the European Commission said on Monday.
The move by the EU executive, which acts as the bloc's competition enforcer, followed Apple's publication of a compliance report for its iPad OS, designated by the commission in April as an important gateway for businesses to reach their customers, Reuters said.
"The Commission will now carefully assess whether the measures adopted for iPad OS are effective in complying with the DMA obligations," the EU antitrust watchdog said in a statement.
"The Commission's assessment will also be based on the input of interested stakeholders," it said.
Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment
The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force earlier this year, requires Apple to allow users to set the default web browser of their choice on iPads, permit alternative app stores on its operating system and allow headphones and smart pens to access iPad OS features.
DMA breaches can cost companies fines as much as 10% of their global annual turnover.

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Volkswagen Workers to Go on Warning Strikes Across Germany

The Volkswagen logo is displayed on the Volkswagen power plant on the day when Volkswagen AG and the industrial union IG Metall started talks over a new labor agreement for six of its German plants, in Wolfsburg, Germany, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
The Volkswagen logo is displayed on the Volkswagen power plant on the day when Volkswagen AG and the industrial union IG Metall started talks over a new labor agreement for six of its German plants, in Wolfsburg, Germany, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
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Volkswagen Workers to Go on Warning Strikes Across Germany

The Volkswagen logo is displayed on the Volkswagen power plant on the day when Volkswagen AG and the industrial union IG Metall started talks over a new labor agreement for six of its German plants, in Wolfsburg, Germany, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
The Volkswagen logo is displayed on the Volkswagen power plant on the day when Volkswagen AG and the industrial union IG Metall started talks over a new labor agreement for six of its German plants, in Wolfsburg, Germany, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

Volkswagen workers will go on warning strikes on Monday at plants across Germany, labor union IG Metall said, marking the first large-scale walkouts at Volkswagen's domestic operations since 2018.

The start of the strikes represents a further escalation of a dispute between Europe's top carmaker and its workers over mass layoffs, pay cuts and possible plant closures - drastic measures the company says it cannot rule out in the face of Chinese competition and cooling consumer demand.

Labor representatives at VW had on Nov. 22 voted for limited strikes at German operations from early December after talks over wages and plant closures failed to achieve a breakthrough, Reuters reported.

"If necessary, this will be the toughest collective bargaining battle Volkswagen has ever seen," IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Groeger said in a statement.

The carmaker said it continues to rely on constructive dialogue to find a sustainable solution.

"Volkswagen respects the right of employees to take part in a warning strike," a spokesperson said in reply to the union's announcement, adding that the company had taken steps in advance to ensure a basic level of supplies to customers and minimise the impact of the strike.

Warning strikes in Germany usually last from a few hours.

The union had last week proposed measures it said would save 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), including forgoing bonuses for 2025 and 2026, which Europe's top carmaker dismissed.

Volkswagen has demanded a 10% wage cut, arguing it needs to slash costs and boost profit to defend market share in the face of cheap competition from China and a drop in European car demand.

The company is threatening to close plants in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history.

"Volkswagen has set fire to our collective agreements and instead of extinguishing this fire in three collective bargaining sessions, the management board is throwing open barrels of petrol into it," Groeger said.

An agreement not to stage walkouts had ended on Saturday, IG Metall said, enabling workers to carry out warning strikes from Sunday across VW AG's German plants.

"Warning strikes will start at all plants from Monday. How long and how intensive this confrontation needs to be is Volkswagen's responsibility at the negotiating table," Groeger said.

Labor representatives and management will meet again on Dec. 9 to carry on negotiations over a new labor agreement for workers at the German business - VW AG - with unions vowing to resist any proposals that do not provide a long-term plan for every VW plant.