Austria

The ÖGB trade union confederation has called for a national protest on 20 September to put pressure on the government to address the cost-of-living crisis. The confederation estimates that food inflation alone has increased the annual bill for a family with two children by €1234, with higher energy costs adding a further €1335 on average. The ÖGB is calling for action on housing costs, including a freeze on rents, as well as measures to ensure affordable energy and a tax on energy companies’ excessive profits. The demonstration on 20 September will create a human chain around the national

The GÖD and younion trade unions have formed a nationwide alliance for public health, calling on the federal government to act quickly and decisively to prevent the burnout of the public health system and above all to tackle the shortage of skilled workers across all occupational groups. The unions estimate an overall shortfall of around 26000 full-time workers. Their main demands include: adapting services to the number of employees by establishing reliable rosters to reduce the risk of overwork; applying a tax exemption on pay from the 32nd hour of the working week as a short-term measure to

The vida trade union and the Chamber of Doctors have begun negotiations with the church-based hospitals in the Carinthia region to update the collective agreement covering around 1600 workers. The first bargaining round took place on 2 August and negotiations will resume on 29 September. The agreement has not been properly updated for 30 years and the union is pushing for major revisions that will improve pay and conditions and make work in the sector more attractive. The union has set out over 40 areas of potential revision covering working time, leave arrangements, sabbaticals and training

After six months of negotiations, workers in church-run elderly care and nursing homes will get an 8% pay increase, along with a cost-of-living bonus of €1500 and a one-hour reduction in weekly working hours to 39 hours. The agreement covers around 3600 employees and the new monthly minimum wage will be set at €1850.76. The 8% increase translates into a 10.65% increase once the one-hour cut is taken into account. The vida trade union negotiated the agreement which it sees as bringing the church-based employer more in line with other collective agreements in the sector although it argues that

The younion trade union reports that a trade union-backed petition calling for better pay and conditions in healthcare has been blocked by a parliamentary committee. The citizens' initiative, supported by over 70,000 signatories, called for action on the major problems facing the sector, including a demand for more training and better pay for trainees, a national assessment of staffing needs and recognition of nursing as an arduous occupation. The parliamentary committee on petitions and citizens' initiatives decided no further action would be taken in response to the petition, despite the

On 20 March, following warning strikes around the country in February, the vida trade union managed to negotiate a collective agreement for private hospitals with a 10.56% wage increase and €2000 minimum monthly wage. The increase takes effect on 1 July along with a cut in working time to 39 hours per week. The minimum increase for full-time employment is €180 and part-time employees will see pay increase by 9.56% and allowances by 7.53%. Employees will also get a €1600 net payment in four instalments by 30 June. Pay for apprentices will increase from 1 July to €815 in the first, €925 in the

After a strong turnout for its national warning strike in private hospitals, the vida trade union is calling on the employers to get negotiations going again and make a decent pay offer. The union wants a €2000 minimum monthly salary in the sector and a pay increase above inflation not just to support workers’ purchasing power but to bring the agreement more in line with others in healthcare. Vida is also calling for urgent action to improve pay and conditions as a step towards tackling the staffing shortage among midwives. As a first step the union wants to see all midwives to be covered by

The vida trade union organised a warning strike in 25 facilities across the country in support of its demands for higher pay for the 10,000 workers employed in the private hospital sector. The union is demanding a pay rise above inflation and a monthly minimum salary of €2000 and argues strongly that it is crucial to improve the pay and conditions for workers to make the sector more attractive and tackle staff shortages and overwork. Meanwhile, the GPA trade union has negotiated a new collective agreement in the electricity sector which delivers pay rises of 8.6%-9.6% along with increases in

Member of the vida private services union working at the network of religious hospitals have voted by a two-thirds majority to accept a new pay deal. Increases will range from 8.4% to 11.2% (for the lower paid) with a minimum increase on monthly salaries of €205. The union has welcomed the agreement that begins to recognise the work done by health staff during the pandemic and helps address the rising cost of living. Vida also underlined the importance of the high level of member participation in campaigning and industrial action that contributed to securing a better pay offer from the

The vida services union reports a very high level of support for the three-hour warning strike that took place in the network of religious hospitals in Vienna on 23 November. The action was supported by the Chamber of Doctors which is also calling for higher pay and improvements to working conditions in response to the significant increase in the demands on health services in recent years. Vida is calling for a €500-a-month increase for all workers in religious hospitals across the country and has denounced as wholly inadequate an employer offer of a €50 lump sum that wouldn’t even be paid to

The younion and GÖD public sector unions have negotiated a 7.15% pay rise from 1 January next year with a 7.32% increase on allowances. However, the minimum guaranteed increase of €170 a month wiil mean that the lowest paid workers will see pay rise by 9.41%. Meanwhile, the vida and GPA private services unions have concluded a new collective agreement covering 130,000 employees in the private health, social and care sector. The two unions welcomed the 8% wage increase from 1 January 2023 along with the guaranteed minimum rise of €175 a month that means an increase of 10.2% for the lowest paid

The vida private services union has been organising workplace meetings in the religious hospitals that employ around 10,000 workers across the country. The key question for employees will be their view on potential strike action to support the union’s demand for higher pay in response to soaring inflation. In one of the first workplace meetings on 4 November the initial soundings produced 95% support for industrial action. The meetings continue until 10 November. Vida is calling for an increase of €500 a month and a minimum monthly salary of €2000. With no result after the first round of

The annual negotiations on public sector pay began on 20 October with the younion and GÖD public sector unions endorsing the key data that will form the basis of the negotiations. As with past negotiations the agreement is to apply the inflation rate for the year to September 2022 and this is 6.9%. The other key figure agreed is the 4.75% economic growth rate for 2022. The negotiations are normally concluded before the end of the year so that the pay increase can be applied from 1 January. The union side have not yet put forward a specific demand on the level of the pay increase. The next