“We demand 11.6 percent” – the almost 500 employees of the Bosch company in Hallein chanted it loudly on Monday morning. Due to the stalled wage negotiations between employers and the union, employees went on strike – for almost three hours.
The employers had previously offered a 2.5 percent wage increase. “That was a slap in the face. The mood in the company was heated. We voted on who was in favor of a strike. There was only one abstention, everyone else was in favour,” says Peter Marchl, chairman of the Bosch works council in Hallein.
The next round of negotiations with employers is scheduled for Thursday in Vienna. The current inflation rate of 9.6 percent must be taken into account. “The current offer is just a joke,” says Marchl. He is convinced that a good result will be achieved – and promptly repeats the rallying cry of his colleagues: “We demand 11.6 percent!”
The warning strike at Bosch in Hallein was the start of similar actions at all major production companies in the state. In the coming days, employees of Liebherr, Emco, Schlotterer and Miele will also be idle for a few hours.
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.
