Unions welcome agreement in hospital sector

Trade unions across the three confederations – LO, YS and Unio – have negotiated changes to the main state agreement that regulates the relations between unions and the government. With many government agencies facing restructuring, the unions are pleased that the new agreement, that runs until 2025, will strengthen co-determination and ensure trade unions are involved in tackling change and the introduction of, for example, new digital tools and processes. The agreement also reinforces the commitment of both sides to address sustainability and climate change and has clearer wording around

The vida private health sector union has welcomed the initiative of social minister Rudolf Hundstorfer to introduce restrictions on working time for hospital doctors. At the moment doctors can work up to 72 hours a week and up to 32 hours in a single shift. The minister is calling for a maximum 25-hour shift. According to the chamber of doctors, one in five in the profession are suffering symptoms of burn-out while 50% are at risk. This increases the likelihood of errors and threatens the quality of service. [Read more at > vida (DE)->http://www.vida.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=S03/Page

The VPOD public services union has reacted positively to the decision by the Zurich regional hospital in Wetzikon to reduce the working week for nurses from 42 to 37.8 hours, with full pay. The initiative runs until the end of 2023 and only applies to nurses who regularly work in the three-shift model, i.e. who also provide night and weekend services. The union launched a charter for health workers in 2019 that called for reduced working hours on full pay as part of a wider range of measures to make substantial improvements to working conditions and improve recruitment and retention. VPOD sees