Agreement reached

Railroad workers’ salaries to be increased by 4.1 percent

Railroad workers at work

(Bild: ÖBB Marktl Photography)

The fourth round of collective bargaining for the approximately 55,000 employees in the railroad sector came to an end this evening with an agreement. The employees are to receive a 4.1 percent increase in collective and actual wages from December, as the union and the Chamber of Commerce jointly announced in the evening. 

The agreement is therefore well above the underlying inflation rate of 3.5 percent. The collective agreement will run for 12 months. Although representatives of the trade union and the Chamber of Commerce were satisfied, the percentage was "above what we can afford in the current tense economic situation. But we want to afford it, it is a strong sign of appreciation from the companies towards their employees," explained Thomas Scheiber, Chairman of the Austrian Railways Association in the WKÖ.

Works councils still have to agree
The union will present the collective agreement to the works councils in the railroad sector for approval at a conference in Vienna tomorrow Thursday. "It can be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that this wage increase will be accepted with broad support," said vida trade unionist Gerhard Tauchner.

In addition to the salary increase, the negotiators also agreed on a 4.1 percent adjustment to the valorizable fringe benefits. In future, the income for technical apprenticeships will amount to 1010 euros from the first year of training.

"There are also improvements for employees in the collective agreement framework. In a side letter to the collective agreement, it was agreed, among other things, that the framework conditions will be adapted to the operational challenges and necessities," says Tauchner. Topics such as night and weekend work, general working time regulations, allocation to salary scales and industry-specific special regulations are to be addressed. The working groups are expected to start in February 2025.