The Metaller negotiations broke down in the fourth round on Thursday. This means that the announced warning attacks are fixed from Monday. Leading companies such as voestalpine, Magna and Andritz are affected.
The fourth round of collective bargaining for the approximately 200,000 employees in the metal industry started with widely divergent positions. It was no surprise that they broke off without an agreement around 7:00 PM (after about eight hours). The ProGe union will begin the first combat measures next week: from Monday November 6 to Wednesday November 8, warning strikes lasting several hours will take place in about 500 companies throughout Austria.
Leading companies such as voestalpine, Magna, Andritz and Amag are affected. Work usually stops for three to four hours. According to ProGe, around 75,000 employees participated in the company meetings that took place in recent weeks.
Employer: offer ten percent plus
Christian Knill, head of the trade association, announced on Thursday before the talks that there would be an “improved offer”, but only if the union also “moved”. The employer’s offer recently amounted to ten percent plus a one-off payment of 1,500 euros over a period of two years. The termination of the talks is regrettable.
Knill describes the warning actions as “irresponsible.” “We were ready to wrap up today. The unions are apparently only interested in escalation and act politically. But we are the wrong point of contact to solve the inflation crisis. The warning strikes that have been announced are irresponsible, because you cannot escape the recession,” he said in a broadcast.
Next hearing on November 9
There were a few models that were discussed. For example, an average wage and salary increase of 8.42 percent would have been offered. According to the employers, this consists of a wage increase of 2.5 percent plus a monthly fixed amount of 100 euros. In addition, there would be a one-off payment of 1,050 euros. The unions had demanded an increase of 11.6 percent.
It can be assumed that a new round of negotiations will take place after the upcoming warning strikes. According to the metal technology industry, this will be the case on November 9.
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.
