Image: VOLKER Weihbold
The first was the electrical and electronics industry (EEI): Yesterday, Wednesday, the industrial spring pay round began in Austria. The Pro-Ge and GPA unions are expecting “very intensive collective bargaining in all sectors and a hard fight for distribution”. They refer to price increases and make it clear: “Proper wage and salary increases are at the top of the list of demands.”
In total, there are around 130,000 employees in the industry, according to the unions. There are 60,000 in the electrical and electronics industry. At the start of negotiations yesterday, the unions demanded 12.9 percent higher wages and salaries for this industry. Traditionally, the rate of inflation over the past twelve months is used as the basis for collective bargaining. According to the trade unions, this was 9.5 percent in February. In the previous year, annual inflation was 8.6 percent.
After the EEI, negotiations begin for the approximately 8,000 employees in the paper industry (March 20), for the textile industry (March 21, 7,500 employees) and for the almost 50,000 employees in the chemical industry (April 14). The end of the industrial spring round is the glass industry with around 7000 employees and a start of negotiations in May.
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