High inflation, coupled with a difficult economic situation, makes collective bargaining negotiations a difficult task for many industries.
It will be interesting to see if there is a common denominator in the KV negotiations. While in the past it was common to focus more or less on the previous year’s inflation, this has recently been questioned by the trade chairman of the WKÖ (Austrian Chamber of Commerce), Rainer Trefelik. A situation like this with multiple crises has not existed for forty years.
The union wants a “fair and permanent increase” and is demanding an increase of 11 percent (see graph). Trefelik emphasizes, without making a concrete offer, that ‘creativity’ is needed to reach a deal for the more than 430,000 employees. There will be company meetings from November 2 to 8 and negotiations will continue on November 9.
Here you see a graph of the wage agreements from 2017.
After three rounds, the metal workers, who are negotiating for 200,000 employees, are far apart. The desired 11.6 percent is compared with 2.5 percent plus a one-off payment of 1,050 euros. While employers point out the bad situation (recession), the union threatens to go on strike after several company meetings if a positive approach is not taken by November 2.
It’s better to start with the social economy
The start of the KV discussions for the social economy, which involves 130,000 jobs, was constructive. From the start, employers offered an inflation compensation of 8.8 percent. The employees demand 15 percent or at least 400 euros plus because the sector still earns 22 percent below average, according to chief negotiator Eva Scherz. It will continue on November 15th and we want to end on the 27th.
After the first round, there is no longer any discussion among civil servants about the general conditions (for example, 9.15 percent inflation as a basis). Business must proceed “immediately.”
Numerous smaller industries such as B. Leather goods, suitcase, shoe, glass and animal feed industry, milling industry (+10.1 percent each), industrial laundries, clothing industry (+10.5 percent) and breweries (+8.1 percent) have already recorded their KV increase for this purpose.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
