18 October, 2011Broad strike activity accelerated a positive wage agreement in the Austrian metal sector. On October 18 Austrian trade unions PRO-GE and GPA djp, the Salaried Employees, Print, Journalism, Paper Union, emerged from bargaining on behalf on 170,000 metal and industrial workers with positive results.
AUSTRIA: The 2011 pay awards will range from 4.2% to 4.4%, with the minimum wage in the sector increasing by €80-per-month, or a sizeable 5.3%. The ICEM commends these wage gains as a sterling European example in creating consumer power to offset the dire financial climate of the Eurozone. PRO-GE and GPA djp are to be congratulated for negotiating €300 million into the Austrian economy in this single set of talks.
This was made possible by strategic and early strikes last week that moved third-round bargaining up to yesterday, and forced the employers' hand in raising their wage offers to above 4%. (See ICEM report on Austrian coordinated strikes last week here.)
"We have met our main demands of sustainable wage and salary increases, particularly for the lowest paid workers," said Rainer Wimmer, PRO-GE's chief negotiator. "I thank the stewards, members, and supporters who made this deal possible. Without the 800 workplace actions and the pressure generated by the strikes, this would not have been possible."
Those strikes happened last Thursday and Friday, and were about to carry into Monday, 17 October, except that employers recognised the growing momentum among workers for fair wage gains and they reached settlement on union terms. That recognition came in hastily called exploratory talks held on Sunday, 16 October, that included ÖGB national labour centre President Erich Foglar and the leader of the chief employers' association, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ).
Third-round bargaining was moved up from 20 October to yesterday to avoid further work stoppages, and the two sides reached accord early today after a 14-hour bargaining session.
The agreement grants a 1 November pay rise of 4.4% to bottom rung workers, 4.3 to mid-level, 4.2% to senior staff, and 4% to top level people. In addition, pay for apprentices increases by 4.3% and all benefit indemnifications increase by the same amount.
Perhaps the crowning achievement was hiking the minimum wage by 5.3%, or up to €1,584-per-month. The wage agreement positively affects the buying power for 25,000 autoworkers, 16,000 who work in basic steel and iron, 5,000 in non-ferrous metals, 5,000 in utility work, and tens of thousands more in machinery, metal goods, and other industrial production.
Austria's metal sector agreement now sets a template for 450,000 retail sector workers. Unions representing those workers and retail employers begin talks on 19 October.
See full ICEM report here.