Two weeks ago, the PRO-GE and GPA unions submitted their demand for a wage and salary increase of 10.6 percent to employers. They described the demands, represented by the Styrian industrialist Christian Knill, as “unreasonable and exaggerated”.
The negotiations in the Chamber of Commerce in Vienna have been going on since 11 a.m. and are likely to last for several hours. An agreement is not to be expected for today, the positions of the negotiating parties are too far apart. Negotiations will then continue on October 17th. In the meantime, the union could continue to mobilize, for example with works meetings.
The demands of the unions
In addition to the 10.6 percent increase in income, the unions are also demanding improvements in the framework law for the 2023 collective agreement, which is to apply from November 1 this year: 1,000 euros for apprenticeship trainees, a new surcharge for Saturday work, an increase in the overtime surcharge for the 10th working hour and easier access to the sixth week of vacation.
The union points to high inflation to explain its demands and states that most companies have earned well. PRO-GE chief negotiator Rainer Wimmer said in the “Ö1 Morgenjournal” on Monday: “Great dividends were paid out and that’s of course about taking the employees with you.”
Meanwhile, FMTI chairman Knill emphasizes the burden on companies due to the sharp rise in energy prices. In addition, the measures taken by the state to cushion inflation should be taken into account in the negotiations, according to the employers’ representative in the “Ö1 Morgenjournal”. He flirts with one-off payments.
Currently 2,090 euros gross minimum wage
The unions reply that they are dealing with the employers, not the government. For Wimmer, one-time surcharges would only be “the chive on bread” and could only be agreed in addition to wage and salary increases.
The minimum wage for the metal industry in the traditionally well-paid sector is currently EUR 2,090 gross. As every year, the starting point for haggling is inflation over the past twelve months, in this case 6.3 percent. According to a quick estimate by Statistics Austria, the rate of inflation was 10.5 percent in September, and the unions want that to be taken into account as well.
Source: Nachrichten
