KV negotiations

Warning strike paralyzes Austrian Airlines

Numerous planes remained on the ground on Friday.

(Bild: P. Huber)

The works meeting at Austrian Airlines, at which the flying personnel were informed about the status of the wage negotiations, turned into a warning strike on Friday. As a result, significantly more flights will be canceled by 5 p.m. than the previously announced 112 flights from the morning. Passengers are urged to inform themselves. Next Friday there could be further cancellations.

This year's collective bargaining negotiations for AUA on-board staff are starting with a bang. The works council and the vida union had announced a works meeting for Friday morning until 1 p.m., where employees were to be informed about the current status of the talks. As a result, AUA had to cancel 112 flights to and from Vienna and inform passengers.

Chaos continues
At short notice, the meeting was extended to a warning strike until 5pm. Countless passengers, some of whom were already at Vienna Airport, were affected. It is still unclear which and how many routes will have to be canceled. AUA advises all those who have a flight to check their flight status in advance, for example via www.austrian.com.

The seats remained empty on Friday.

(Bild: aurena.at/ Lex Karelly)

AUA: "Completely inappropriate"
 At the same time, the airline emphasizes that the measure is "completely inappropriate" and will only be to the detriment of passengers. "We are calling on the works council and the union to come back to the negotiating table," emphasizes AUA spokeswoman Sophie Matkovits.

An offer from the airline is already on the table. It provides for a 4.5 percent increase in pay for flying personnel. This corresponds to the underlying European inflation rate. The European value is used because the airline is in international competition. 75 percent of tickets are bought by international passengers.

However, the company would be happy to negotiate "more". "The works council has it in its hands," said the spokeswoman. Possible points for a higher agreement include, for example, a longer collective agreement term, an increase in profit sharing or one-off payments.

Numerous planes remained on the ground.

(Bild: P. Huber)

According to AUA, the union is demanding an average increase of 40 percent
AUA has already received the package of demands from the in-flight works council and the vida union. "According to our calculations, the bottom line is an increase of around 40 percent," explains Matkovits. In addition, the term of the agreement is only ten months. From AUA's point of view, this package is excessive and not in the long-term interests of the employees, as it would not be able to survive in international competition for long.

In March last year, the airline's cabin crew received an eleven percent increase. And this spring, a profit-sharing bonus will be paid to all employees.

Further layoffs possible next Friday

According to information from "Krone", there will be further strikes and works meetings next Friday. Anyone who has a flight on that day should therefore find out in good time whether it will take place.