AUA Easter strike

Staff representatives: “It won’t be short”

Will many AUA aircraft remain on the ground at Easter? There is still no compromise in sight.

(Bild: P. Huber)

The conflict between employee representatives and AUA continues to smoulder - on Friday evening the signs moved further towards a strike for the Easter holidays. The decision of the works council and union could be announced at lunchtime on Saturday. "It won't be very short." 

The AUA on-board staff threatened to strike in the coming Holy Week if the employer does not present a "serious offer" during Friday.

"We have discussed the provisional offer with the works council and have decided to make a concrete decision on strike action around the Easter holidays in the union committees tomorrow (Saturday, note)," said Daniel Liebhart, chairman of the vida aviation section, on Friday evening.

Decision as early as Saturday afternoon?
When asked, the trade unionist did not rule out a strike lasting several days, but did not want to be more specific. "It won't be very short." "On Saturday, we will see exactly what we decide," said Liebhart. A decision could be announced at lunchtime.

According to AUA, the airline's offer provides for a salary increase of 18 percent and up to 28 percent for co-pilots.

(Bild: APA/HANS PUNZ)

Deadline for new offer until Friday midnight
As previously announced, the company would also wait until Friday midnight to see if it would make a new offer after all. However, this seemed unrealistic. AUA once again referred to its existing "fair offer" - which the employees do not see as such. It is only a compensation for inflation and not appreciative, they say.

An AUA spokeswoman told APA: "The union and the works council still have the choice: either they decide to continue negotiations in the interests of our employees and passengers or they decide to take escalation measures." The company is also available for further negotiations at any time and is happy to discuss the offer made yesterday.

Both sides criticize lack of willingness to talk
Liebhart once again criticized the company's management board, which "has left, even if AUA denies it". This detail of the dispute on Friday showed how muddled the situation is likely to be. Both sides accused each other of not showing up at the negotiating table. In the endless loop of this CT dispute, the cat once again bit itself in the tail on Friday evening. So far, 16 rounds of talks have been held without results.

According to AUA, the airline's offer provides for a salary increase of 18 percent and up to 28 percent for co-pilots, AUA announced. However, the collective agreement should then apply until the end of 2025. According to AUA, however, the union's demand amounts to increases of up to 40 percent, valid for ten months. "This would have resulted in a loss in the previous year," AUA also announced. However, the union commented that this was a numbers game. And: The union is also prepared to negotiate a collective agreement for the next 22 months - i.e. until the end of 2025.