Demo already decided

Civil servants’ collective agreement: difficult negotiations begin

The negotiations on the employers' side will be led by Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler and Finance Minister Magnus Brunner.

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

The collective bargaining negotiations for the civil service began on Monday under a bad star. On the one hand, the economic outlook is poor and on the other, the government no longer has a parliamentary majority. Nevertheless, Eckehard Quin, chairman of the public service union, insists that purchasing power will be secured in the long term. The employee representatives have already decided to take industrial action - which is also rather unusual.

Quin argued on Monday that they had had to wait a quarter of a year for a date. For Civil Service Minister Werner Kogler (Greens), the civil service representatives are "well within their rights" to announce appropriate measures. He had justified the delay in the negotiations by saying that the Ministry of Finance had not provided a representative for them. 

GÖD Chairman Eckehard Quin

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

In the end, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) attended the talks in person on Monday. Whether he will conclude them is questionable. This is because he is moving to the EU Commission in Brussels in around two weeks' time. In the direction of the civil servants' representatives, he said today that major demands in the run-up to talks are "not expedient". 

Court of Auditors president causes a stir with demand
The President of the Court of Audit, Margit Kraker, recently caused a bit of a stir when she called for a zero wage round in view of the dismal budgetary situation. Kogler is obviously not too keen on this, even though he spoke of a difficult economic environment. He recalled complaints that the public sector as an employer could not keep up with the private sector because salaries were too low. ÖAAB chairman August Wöginger reacted much more sharply in a press release. Kraker should focus on her tasks and not on politics: "She should not be aware that the Court of Audit is a parliamentary control body and not a political body." It is not very helpful for Kraker to add fuel to the fire.

Margit Kraker, President of the Court of Audit

(Bild: Reinhard HKoll)

Another difficulty in the talks is the lack of a government majority in the National Council. A third partner would be needed to decide on the salaries of civil servants, as Kogler also pointed out. The agreement of the SPÖ, whose negotiators also play an important role in the talks on the civil servants' side, would be logical here.

Large demonstration planned for November 26
No results are expected from the first round. In this respect, it can be assumed that the agreed industrial action will also start. Staff and works meetings will be held today, Monday, to provide information about the situation and the next steps. A major demonstration is planned for November 26 in Vienna, exactly on the day before the start of the staff representation elections.