Union calls for higher minimum wages in collective agreements
4 March 2010
The GPA-DJP trade union that organises in the private health and energy sectors has called on unions to negotiate higher minimum wages. Austrian unions have managed to ensure that no collective agreement has a minimum rate less than €1000 a month but the GPA-DJP argues that this is inadequate and that it is only just above the EU’s poverty wage threshold of €900 a month. The union wants to see all collective agreements with minimum wages of at least €1300 a month.
Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
Union defends hospital workers
15 February 2010
The GDG-KMSfB public services union has attacked calls for new collective agreements in hospitals that would threaten the current earnings of health workers. The union made clear that it would defend hospital workers’ pay and conditions and call for improvements in view of their hard work and unsocial hours. The GDG also criticised the employers’ organisation (Wirtschaftskammer) for claiming that massive savings could be made through privatisation of health services.
Read more at > GDG (DE)
Red Cross workers reject pay freeze
15 February 2010
A meeting of works council reps has called on the Red Cross in Vienna to stop delaying and make a pay offer and not try to freeze pay for 2010. The workers argue that their pay should rise in line with workers delivering similar services and point to the recent agreement in the BAGS private health negotiations that produced a 1.5% pay increase.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Energy workers get 1.6% on lowest rate
4 February 2010
After two rounds of negotiations unions secured a 1.6% pay increase on the lowest pay rates for the 18,000 workers in the electricity industry. Increases on higher pay rates varied between 1.45% and 1.55%. The agreement runs from 1 February 2010 to 31 January 2011.
Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
Health and social service workers get 1.5%
4 February 2010
The VIDA and GPA-DJP trade unions have negotiated a 1.5% increase for most workers covered by the private sector health and social services agreement. However, the deal includes a minimum increase of €24 which means the lowest paid get an increase of 1.86%. The unions say that the successful negotiations would not have been possible without the active support and intervention of workers and works council members.
Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Unions co-ordinate action in four cities over health sector pay
6 January 2010
Negotiations over pay for 80,000 health and social services workers in the private sector were broken off on 21 December. Union members are seriously disappointed with the employers’ latest offer of a 1.17% pay increase. The increase on some pay rates and allowances would only be 0.9% and the employers also want to abolish the 50% additional payment for working the 39th and 40th hours each week. Works council members are being co-ordinated in demonstrations taking place in four cities on 14 January before negotiations reconvene on 21 January.
Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
And at > vida (DE)
Call for better pay offer or better employment conditions
6 January 2010
The vida trade union is demanding an improved pay offer for the 15,000 employees in private and non-profit health institutions. The union says that the current offer of 0.9% does not recognise the contribution made by employees but vida also wants to see improvements to employment conditions. It says that employers make excessive demands on employees both at work and being on-call and that there needs to be a much firmer arrangements for employees’ working time and time off.
Read more at > vida (DE)
Public sector workers to get 0.9% plus €4
17 December 2009
After several very challenging rounds of negotiations the GÖD and GDG public service unions have accepted a pay increase of 0.9% plus €4 a month for 2010. The government had initially said that it had only budgeted for a 0.5% increase in the pay bill and that it only wanted to pay a lump sum payment. The flat-rate increase of €4 means that the overall increase for the lowest paid will be 1.23% and 0.94% for the highest paid. Other payments and allowances will increase by 0.9%. The increase will cover around 400,000 workers across the public sector.
Read more at > GDG (DE)
And at > GÖD (DE)
Health sector negotiations continue
17 December 2009
The GPA-DJP and vida trade unions have rejected the latest offer from the employers in the private health and social service sector for an increase below the current inflation rate (up to 0.5%). Works council representatives are meeting around the country to discuss the pay negotiations and to plan their response following the next round of negotiations on 21 December. The unions are looking for a real pay increase as well as other measures to help close the gender pay gap. Works council representatives meeting in Vienna said they were disgusted by the employers’ offer and called for a decent pay increase to reflect the increasing workloads in the sector. They also called for increased public funding, contrasting the problems faced by the health and social care with the billions of euros support received by the finance sector.
Read more at > GDA-DJP (DE)
And at > vida DE()
And at > vida (DE)
No progress after fourth round of pay negotiations
30 November 2009
The GDG and GÖD public sector unions have rejected the employers’ latest offer of a 0.5% pay increase. The unions have written a joint letter to the chancellor (prime minister) vice-chancellor arguing that they should immediately get involved in the negotiations as the current negotiators do not have a full mandate. At the moment the employers are even refusing to offer a rise in line with inflation (0.9%).
Read more at > GDG (DE)
And at > GÖD (DE)
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