Fall wage round

Trade union demands “compensation for inflation”

vida Chairman Roman Hebenstreit and Gerhard Tauchner (Railway Chairman)

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

The vida trade union is demanding compensation for rolling inflation and "increased workloads" for the collective wage negotiations in the railroad, road, retail/warehousing and cleaning sectors starting in October and November. 

"Wage increases cannot be based solely on the current monthly inflation rate or the predicted economic downturn," vida boss Roman Hebenstreit told journalists on Monday.

Recession year makes negotiations difficult
The union traditionally does not want to announce specific wage demands until the start of collective bargaining. In view of last year's two-year collective agreement for metalworkers, the focus of the fall wage round this year is on other sectors, such as retail and rail. The expected decline in economic output in Austria this year and the second year of recession in a row will probably make the collective bargaining negotiations more difficult.

Deputy vida Chairwoman Olivia Janisch, Chairman Roman Hebenstreit, Gerhard Tauchner (Chairman Railway) and General Secretary Anna Daimler (from left to right)

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

In September, the inflation rate amounted to 1.8 percent according to a quick estimate by Statistics Austria. Economic researchers from Wifo and IHS are forecasting an increase in consumer prices (CPI) of 3.1% and 3.0% respectively for 2024. The rolling inflation of the past twelve months, which serves as the basis for negotiations, varies depending on the start of the collective bargaining negotiations. For October 2023 to September 2024, Wifo economist Josef Baumgartner estimates an inflation rate of 3.8 percent. The vida trade union referred to rolling inflation of 4.6 percent, without specifying a time period.

"Massive increase in the cost of living"
The vida union is insisting on a noticeable increase in the minimum wages in the sectors to be negotiated. "With current entry-level wages of around EUR 2,000 gross per month, there is still a lot of catching up to do here in view of the massive rise in the cost of living in some sectors over the last two and a half years," said Hebenstreit at a press conference with other vida officials in Vienna.

The government's anti-inflation payments had "fizzled out" and prices for rent and food, among other things, remained "extremely high", criticized the vida boss. The collectively agreed full-time minimum salaries currently amount to 2000 gross per month (around 1600 euros net) in the cleaning industry, between 1923 and 2591 euros gross in the railroad industry, 2025 euros gross for trade workers, 2043 euros gross in goods transportation and 2174 euros or 2773 euros gross (drivers) for private bus companies.

Cleaning staff want free weekends
The collective bargaining negotiations in the cleaning sector - 54,000 employees, two thirds of whom are female - will start on Tuesday, October 8. In addition to a "wage increase above inflation", the deputy head of vida, Olivia Janisch, is calling for every second weekend to be guaranteed free for cleaning staff and for employers to announce and adhere to duty rosters in good time.

"CLA agreement must be more than inflation"
After a 24-hour warning strike, the rail employers and the union agreed on a two-year collective bargaining agreement at the end of 2022. The collective bargaining negotiations for the 55,000 railroad employees, 16 percent of whom are female, will start this year on October 22. For Gerhard Tauchner, chairman of the vida railroad section, the collective agreement must be "more than inflation". He assumes that there will be "understanding among the companies" and that there will be "no escalations". Tauchner also referred to the tense personnel situation in the rail industry. "The acute staff shortage in the rail sector is leading to more than 4.5 million hours of overtime and numerous delays for rail passengers."

The first round of collective bargaining for the approximately 50,000 employees in the freight transport sector, 14 percent of whom are female, will start on November 11. No fixed date has yet been set for the private bus companies. "Only an improvement in working conditions in combination with an increase in minimum wages will secure the workforce in the long term," says vida General Secretary Anna Daimler. "Thousands of drivers are still needed for the desired mobility turnaround, including the expansion of public bus transport".

The collective bargaining negotiations for the approximately 150,000 employees in the retail and warehousing sector, 54 percent of whom are female, will start on November 24. In this sector, too, employers must "counteract the demand for labor with higher pay and better working conditions," said Janisch, deputy head of vida.