Equal pay day highlights women’s “unpaid” work
31 August 2010
Services union VIDA is supporting the ÖGB trade union confederation’s campaigning around equal pay and the Equal Pay Day planned for 29 September. The date was chosen to correspond to the 25.6% gender pay gap in Austria, represented by the idea that if men and women both work full-time for a year the pay gap means that on average women are unpaid for the final three months of the year. The union stresses that equal pay for work of equal value is not just a question of fairness but would also mean an important boost to the economy.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Employers join call for better conditions in care sector
17 August 2010
The BFW employers’ organization has joined the trade unions’ call for increased funding for the care sector and improved pay and conditions for care workers. The GPA-DJP and VIDA trade unions argue that employees are underpaid and work excessive hours and that the quality of care will suffer unless something is done to increase employment in the sector and improve the attractiveness of the caring professions.
Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
And at > VIDA (DE)
Public services union rejects report on public sector cuts
4 August 2010
The GÖD public services union has rejected proposals from a report by the Institute for Advance Studies (IHS) that there should be a pay freeze in the public sector or that increases should be below inflation or postponed. The union argues that this would affect purchasing power. It also argues that it would be in favour of a reform of the public sector salary system with higher rates for new starters. GÖD also points out that the education and age profile of the public sector are different from the private sector and account for higher salaries.
Read more at > GÖD (DE)
Union welcomes tougher laws on employment rights
21 July 2010
The VIDA services union has backed a government initiative to better enforce minimum pay rates in collective agreements and other employment rights. The proposal is in preparation for the full opening up of the Austrian labour market to the rest of the EU in 2011 and concern about social dumping. The union says that migrant workers in some border areas are already being paid 40% below the rate in the relevant collective agreement and tougher measures are needed to ensure that employers pay the negotiated rates.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Union attacks plan for increased pension age for health and social care workers
21 July 2010
The GÖD has criticised proposals to increase the retirement age in the health and social care sector. Johann Hable, chair of the health section, pointed out that workers in the sector face shift work, night work and unsocial hours and few even reach the current retirement age. Getting health workers to work longer would increase the risk of burn-out. Instead the union wants to see employers take initiatives to support older workers such as part-time work on full pay, paid rest time and fitness programmes.
Read more at > GÖD (DE)
Extension of collective agreement for emergency services
5 July 2010
The collective agreement covering the Red Cross has been extended to cover all emergency service and ambulance workers. The decision has been welcomed by the GPA-DJP and VIDA trade unions that have been campaigning for over two years against wage dumping the sector. The next target for the unions is to negotiate a single pay structure for whole of the country as the Red Cross agreement currently has different pay levels for different regions.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Union attacks proposal to fill care jobs with 15-year-olds
21 June 2010
The VIDA services union says that the staff shortages in the care sector need to be tackled by improving pay and reducing hours and not be relying on school-leavers to fill vacancies. Responding to a proposal from a regional politician, VIDA points out that the proposals completely fails to understand the nature of the caring professions and the needs of those in care.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Petition backs call for 20,000 more care workers
1 June 2010
The VIDA and GPD-DJP unions are campaigning for a major boost to jobs in the care sector. They argue that overwork and burnout pose a threat not just to workers but also to patients and clients. The unions’ are calling for a “social billion” to cover the creation of 20,000 new jobs in the sector. They also want to see a parliamentary enquiry to investigate pay and conditions for care workers and financing of the sector.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Survey reveals pressure of work faced by health employees
13 May 2010
A survey by the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labour reveals the extent to which health workers’ well-being is under threat from stress and long hours. The survey of around 33,000 employees found one in five were emotionally exhausted while 27% worked 12-14 hours a day. Some 40% of employees worked more than 40 hours a week even though only 1% had agreed to work such long hours. One in four new jobs are in the health sector and there are around 6,000 vacancies nationwide. The Chamber of Labour and services union VIDA have called for action on health sector working conditions in order to help boost recruitment.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Health sector deal extended
1 April 2010
The 1.5% pay increase agreed for the private health and social care sector has been confirmed and extended to cover employers who are not members of the BAGS employers’ organisation. This means that a further 40,000 employees will be covered by the agreement which provides for a minimum salary of €1300 a month.
Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
And at > VIDA (DE)
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