The social partners in the metalworking industry reached agreement on the 2023 collective labor agreement (KV) on Friday evening. The 130,000 employees will receive an average increase in the actual wage of 7.44 percent, with the increase consisting of an increase of 5.4 percent and a monthly payment of 75 euros. Depending on the pay grade, employees receive an actual increase of 8 to 8.9 percent, employees 7 percent.
The minimum wage rises to 2236 euros gross. The allowance for apprentices will be gradually increased in 2024 to 1,050 euros per month in the first year. The KV applies retroactively from 1 November 2022.
“Real wage growth in exceptional situation”
After the overnight agreement, the employee representatives Karl Dürtscher (GPA) and Rainer Wimmer (PRO-GE) were satisfied with the agreement, as it was sustainable, as the one-off payments requested by the employers were not made. It was also emphasized that low incomes in particular will be increased. “We managed to achieve real wage growth in an extraordinary situation,” Wimmer told journalists.
Employers’ chairman Christian Knill also spoke of an extraordinary situation, but in the end both sides moved – in the interests of social peace and planning security. He regretted that it had not been possible to make one-off payments to the unions pleasant. In terms of costs, Knill said workforce costs in the metalworking industry would be around $9 billion, so future wage and salary increases would certainly entail significant amounts.
Negotiated for 12 hours
The agreement required four rounds of negotiations, the last of which took more than 12 hours to negotiate in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. The GPA and PRO-GE employee representatives started negotiations with a demand of 10.6 percent more wages and salaries. The basis for haggling has traditionally been inflation over the past twelve months, which stood at 6.4 percent.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
