Decision on May 6

CBA breakdown: strikes also threatened in the chemical industry

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(Bild: Alexander Raths/stock.adobe.com)

The collective bargaining negotiations on salaries and wages for almost 50,000 employees in the chemical industry will continue on May 6. In the third round of negotiations on Tuesday, the unions and the trade association failed to reach an agreement. And the unions are already threatening: "In view of the hardened situation, further union action will be taken if the fourth round of negotiations is unsuccessful."

According to the negotiating unions PRO-GE and GPA, works meetings will be held throughout Austria from April 24 to 30. 

Employers: demands of employee representatives too high
The employers consider the demands of the employee representatives to be too high and referred to the poor order situation and the high unit costs in Austria in a press release after the meeting.

Employers offer an average increase of 4.1% with 6.8% inflation
According to the Austrian Chemical Industry Association (FCIO), it is offering an average increase of 4.1%. According to the employers' association, lower incomes, which are particularly affected by inflation, should be increased more.

Inflation over the past twelve months, on the basis of which negotiations are being conducted, was 6.8 percent. An agreement below this would mean a real wage loss, an agreement above this would mean a real wage gain.

This offer, which is significantly below the average inflation rate, does not meet employees' expectations and cannot be accepted.

Die Gewerkschaften PRO-GE und GPA

"This offer, which is significantly below the average inflation rate, does not meet the expectations of employees and cannot be accepted," explained the PRO-GE and GPA unions. They are demanding a "sustainable compensation for inflation". 

The employers' chief negotiator, Berthold Stöger, said that too high an agreement would jeopardize the future of companies and thus jobs. Austria was the negative leader in Europe in terms of the increase in unit labor costs. The cautious wage policy in Germany, the largest sales market and most important competitor, also represented a challenge for the chemical industry in Austria.