Price war is intensifying

“Systematic grievances” in the security industry

Sick leave can have serious consequences for security staff.

(Bild: Patrick Huber)

Unpaid overtime, twelve-hour shifts, dismissals during sick leave - the security industry in Austria is in a bad way. An investigation by the Chamber of Labor (AK) and the vida trade union has come to a sobering conclusion. Their analysis confirms some "systematic grievances".

"Employees in the security industry by no means find safe and reliable working conditions," criticize the Chamber of Labour (AK) and vida.

The industry has to contend with a fierce price war, which is passed on to the workers - in the form of long shifts, short-term scheduling, difficult working conditions and cutbacks in training and personnel planning.

Guards, for example, are on duty for up to twelve hours at a time for up to five days in a row. This is "extremely risky", says vida expert Gernot Kopp.

Guards are on duty for twelve hours at a time for up to five days in a row. That is highly risky.

vida-Experte Gernot Kopp.

Payroll accounting mostly unfair
And not everything is always fair when it comes to payroll accounting: "In 36 percent of cases, overtime was not paid or not paid correctly. This ranged from small differences to extreme examples where 300 hours of overtime including bonuses were withheld," the employee representatives are stunned.

Dismissal on second sick leave
Sick leave can have serious consequences in the security industry. "The treatment of sick employees leaves a lot to be desired and there is a clear pattern: Even the second sick leave in an employment relationship can become a problem for employees, and many are dismissed - often very informally via WhatsApp," criticize AK and vida.

Conflicts are often resolved out of court
The market is dominated by G4S, Securitas, Siwacht and ÖWD. They account for more than half of the market, with all four companies having a works council. As a result, labor law conflicts are often resolved out of court.

Nevertheless, the Vienna Chamber of Labor conducted around 700 consultations with people from the sector between January 2023 and November 2024. "This is a remarkable number of cases considering the comparatively small industry. Especially because only some of the employees affected by injustice turn to the AK and the number of unreported cases is always higher," the Chamber of Labor points out.

More than a third without Austrian citizenship
Around 12,700 employees work in the security industry every year. If you include short-term employees for certain occasions, the number rises to up to 16,000. "The proportion of women nationwide is 40 percent. More than a third of employees in Vienna do not have Austrian citizenship," AK and vida calculate.