“Now it’s also about strengthening people’s purchasing power. “The trade unions will not allow any loss of real wages. 10.6 percent more is therefore a real requirement,” said GPA boss Karl Dürtscher. “There is no need for a magic wand here,” he said.
The unions did the math: Production increased by five billion euros in 2021 compared to the pre-Corona year 2019. The first half of 2022 went even better than in the same period of the previous year.
Other union demands are: 1,000 euros for apprenticeship trainees, a new supplement for Saturday work, an increase in the overtime supplement for the 10th working hour and easier access to the sixth week of vacation. Almost nobody stays with the same employer for more than 25 years. “The majority of employees – voluntarily or forced – change jobs more frequently and after a few years. The sixth week of vacation is therefore unattainable for most,” said Dürtscher and Wimmer unanimously.
As always, haggling takes place in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce in Vienna. In addition to the metal technology industry (FMTI) with its around 130,000 employees, the collective agreements of the other branches of the metal industry are also being negotiated, they affect around 70,000 employees. In the past, the degrees here were the same as at the FMTI. The situation is similar with wages and salaries in the metal industry, which will be negotiated in a few weeks.
In the previous year, the metal industry closed with a wage and salary increase of 3 to 3.55 percent. The gross minimum wage increased to EUR 2,089.87. The new collective agreement is to come into effect on November 1, 2022.
Source: Nachrichten
