Given the high inflation, the social partners expect particularly tough and protracted negotiations during the autumn wage round. The new production union boss Reinhold Binder warns against “wage robbery”. One-off payments are absolutely taboo, Binder told the Crown.
On September 25, collective bargaining will start in the metal processing industry (137,000 employees). In the period September 2022 to August 2023, the inflation rate (CPI) was 9.6 percent. The KV negotiations for 430,000 commercial employees and students will start in October.
‘Employers must be prepared for tough negotiations’
The head of the production union (PRO-GE), who was elected in June, wants to achieve “a good wage increase” in the Metaller-KV negotiations. “One-off payments can only be the chive on the bread,” said Binder. Employers should be ‘preparing for tough negotiations’ anyway, but they are ‘aware of any responsibility’. People do not shy away from “countermeasures”, said the top trade unionist of the “Krone”.
Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer warned against denying the competitiveness aspect of wage negotiations. “If I hide it, it may happen that there is not only a gradual migration and threat, but a very real and immediate one,” Mahrer told the Kleine Zeitung.
Mahrer praises the discussion climate
According to the WKÖ chairman, the relationship between the Chamber of Commerce and the union is without problems. “We have an excellent atmosphere for discussion and respectful cooperation – when it comes to the big solutions for the country”. The social partnership “definitely works better than the work within the government or between the government and the opposition,” said Mahrer.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
