Conclusion of negotiations

3.3% salary increase for state employees & politicians

State and employee representatives have agreed on a salary settlement

(Bild: APA/GERT EGGENBERGER)

The trade union can rejoice: despite the austerity package of the state of Carinthia, an agreement has now been reached to increase salaries by 3.3 percent. Carinthia's politicians can also look forward to an equally high salary increase.

Only recently, far lower figures were circulating when representatives of the state of Carinthia were asked about the salary negotiations. There was talk of 2.5 percent and additional bonus payments, but apparently this proposal was not accepted by the union.

In the fourth round of negotiations, which took place on Saturday, the state and the union agreed on a 3.3 percent increase for the approximately 12,000 state and KABEG hospital employees.

The total costs for the state of Carinthia for 2025 amount to around 31.7 million euros. Compared to the federal agreement (3.5 percent), this is 1.9 million euros less. For 2026, the parties agreed on a settlement in line with rolling inflation. Both sides acknowledge that the current economic and financial situation of the state of Carinthia is characterized by the consequences of international conflicts and negative economic developments.

Salary cut

• From January 2025: plus 3.3 percent on basic salary and bonuses (payment retroactive to February for January 2025)
• From January 2026: Full inflation compensation for rolling inflation (payment from January 2026)

"The initial situation was massively tense and anything but easy. Not only was the already budgeted zero wage round averted, but a positive agreement was also reached for all occupational groups," said a delighted Michael Kraxner, Chairman of the healthcare union, and Maximilian Rakuscha, Chairman of the Central Works Council at KABEG.

"The result of the negotiations expresses the appreciation and thanks of the state to its employees, but also shows our shared awareness of the challenges of the current budgetary and economic situation," emphasizes Governor Peter Kaiser. "We are faced with the challenge of creating a sustainable financial basis for the state and at the same time maintaining the attractiveness of the public sector."

GÖD Carinthia Chairman Sandrieser shows acceptance for the result: "GÖD Carinthia is a reliable partner that works constructively to solve problems. Our aim was to reach a fair and reasonable agreement in view of the challenging framework conditions, which takes into account the interests of our colleagues in the context of the financial possibilities of the state. In difficult negotiations, we succeeded in averting a zero pay rise."

Politicians' salaries also increase by 3.3 percent
Following the conclusion of the salary negotiations, the representatives of the coalition parties also reached an agreement on politicians' salaries in Carinthia. In contrast to the adjustment factor of 4.6 percent calculated by the Federal Audit Office, the increase in Carinthia will only be 3.3 percent in the coming year. In addition, this increase will not come into force until July 1, 2025.