Unions in the struggle for fair wages: a new spring start!

Unions in the struggle for fair wages: a new spring start!

On Friday, March 21, 2025, the unions Pro-Ge and GPA opened the first collective agreement negotiations for the approximately 60,000 employees of the electrical and electronics industry in Austria. At the center of the talks are ongoing wage and salary increases, which are considered urgent, especially in the context of the current inflation crisis, which is heavily burdened by the employees. "We rely on sustainable increases, especially for the lower income groups. It is all about money!" Emphasize the negotiators Reinhold Binder from Pro-Ge and Karl Dürtscher from GPA, as well as ots reported .

In addition to the wage claims, structural improvements are also discussed. This includes increasing the shift allowances: the union demands 1.50 euros for the second and impressive five euros per hour for the third shift. Furthermore, negotiations are being made about a reformed regulation of the anniversary allowance and the introduction of a sixth vacation week. The option of converting wage increases into additional free time is also interesting, which has already been popular in the past. The next round of the negotiations is scheduled for March 31, 2025, with the aim of putting a new collective agreement from May 1, 2025.

collective agreement negotiations in focus

The negotiations are part of the comprehensive spring wage round for several key sectors that was heralded this week. Like 5min reported , a negotiation for the paper industry, which includes around 8,000 employees, will begin one day after the opening for the electrical industry. Negotiations will also be due for the chemical industry from March 26, 2025. The amount of the inflation rate is important, which has been 2.8 percent in the past twelve months, which has to significantly increase the minimum wages in order to secure the purchasing power of the employees. The minimum wage for many industries is raised to over 2,000 euros, which is an important step to improve living conditions.