At the Tyrolean food retailer MPreis, headquartered in Völs (Innsbruck-Land district), an employee works council was elected for the first time on Wednesday. Around 4,200 employees will be represented by the 22-member committee.
However, only 24 percent used their right to participate. Three lists were eligible and the constituent meeting will take place on October 2.
GPA speaks of “Day of Joy”
The GPA union called it a “day of joy” and a “historic election.” However, there were problems with the mail and some voting cards did not arrive on time.
The election of the works council was said to be of great importance to GPA, especially in light of the restructuring measures announced by the company. MPreis was recently in the red and spoke of necessary “painful cuts”.
No job losses
However, the union fears that there will be no major job losses after a roundtable discussion with representatives of the state government and social partners. Instead, the company wanted to compensate for the reductions “through natural fluctuations” and keep workers in the company.
According to MPreis, only a portion of the entire workforce is currently represented by the works council. Only the employees, but not the workers, are included. However, the APA said that setting up a works council would be in the hands of the employees themselves.
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.
