Start of fall wage round

GPA wants a pay rise of more than 3.8% in the retail sector

The negotiators from the GPA union, Veronika Arnost and Martin Müllauer, are demanding real income increases in the retail sector.

(Bild: Zwefo)

For around 430,000 employees and apprentices in the retail sector, a lot of money will be at stake again from October 23. The fall wage round starts - and the GPA union is being combative in the run-up to the collective bargaining negotiations: it is demanding a salary increase that is higher than the underlying inflation of 3.8%.

The negotiators from the GPA union, Veronika Arnost and Martin Müllauer, outlined their approach on Thursday evening. Arnost: "We are calling for a tangible and permanent increase in salaries. Retail employees need the certainty that their real income will increase." In plain language, this means that the GPA is campaigning for an increase of more than 3.8 percent, valid from January 1, 2025.

The aim is to increase purchasing power
This is because the relevant average inflation from October 2023 to September 2024 was 3.8 percent. Arnost is hoping for "constructive talks at eye level" with employers. The aim is "a win-win situation. Fairer incomes for retail employees boost purchasing power. Better salaries also boost consumption and generate higher sales for companies. We need stimuli to boost the economy and eliminate consumer restraint. Every tenth more benefits retail employees and the retail sector itself!"

According to Arnost, two thirds of the 430,000 employees in the retail, wholesale and automotive trade are women. The starting salary for a full-time position in the sector is 2124 euros gross. However, more than a third of retail employees only work part-time and therefore earn less.

Many retailers had good sales growth in 2023 according to the study
Arnost does not want to accept the arguments of Rainer Trefelik, chief negotiator for the Chamber of Commerce, that the retail sector is in crisis and has hardly any scope for salary increases. According to an analysis by the Chamber of Labor, which examined 199 larger retail companies, they outperformed the industry as a whole in 2023 with an average increase in turnover of 5.8 percent. The companies were also able to keep profit distributions stable. In addition, economists expect economic growth of at least one percent for the coming year.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

The GPA is therefore making specific demands:

1. An increase in salaries and apprentice income above the rolling inflation rate
2. An increase in apprentice income in the first year of apprenticeship from 880 to 1000 euros per month
3. Maintaining existing overpayments in full until December 31, 2024 
4. Maintaining the overpayment in the event of salary increases
5. Additional permanent days off: three working days from five years of service, two from seven years of service and one from ten years of service.
6. A supplement for overtime from the first hour of exceeding the agreed normal working hours. The collective agreement currently provides for 1.5 hours of bonus-free overtime per week - although the 1.5 hours also apply to part-time employees.

Last year, after tough negotiations, the union and employer only agreed on a salary increase at the end of December (see chart), which applied from 1 January 2024. At an average of 8.4 percent, this was below the relevant inflation rate of 9.2 percent for the first time. Martin Müllauer, Chairman of the GPA trade division, defends the agreement reached at the time, in which the one-off payment offered by the employers was averted: "We managed to get money into people's accounts - and to do so sustainably."