BERLIN, (Reuters) – Employees of Tesla’s new factory in Berlin will be electing a work council that represents their interests. This was a German trade union stated on Tuesday.

According to the IG Metall trade union, seven workers had already taken the first steps towards setting up a work council. They plan on choosing an election committee for Nov. 29.

A works council gives the workers a voice, and helps them to be heard. Birgit Dastze, IG Metall’s district leader for Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony, said, “This is in accord with Germany’s democratic work culture.” Tesla’s plant in Berlin will have 12,000 employees, but only about a sixth of them have been hired yet, IG Metall stated.

IG Metall claims that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, known for his rocky relations with organised labor, has told applicants that he is willing to pay 20% more than other German automakers.

Tesla also offers packages that include stock options, bonuses and holiday pay instead of predetermined holidays.

Tesla did not respond immediately to an email or phone request for comment.

Musk received an order to remove a Tweet dated 2018 insinuating that U.S. employees could lose their stock options, if they form a union.

Musk vented his frustration with German law and process in a April letter. Musk stated in the letter that complex planning requirements in Germany were not in line with the urgent need to combat climate change.