Wages increase by 1.5 percent «kleinezeitung.at

Graduation in the amount of the inflation rate, the social partners pleased with the changes in the framework law. Appeal to companies that can pay a crown bond. An overview.

21:57, 21 October 2020

The employers’ side spoke of “particularly challenging framework conditions” and worker representatives of expectations that “perhaps never have been so contradictory.” However, after the metallurgists, it has now also been possible in retail to achieve a result in the first round of negotiations on a new collective agreement. Salaries and compensation for apprentices will increase by 1.5 percent starting January 1, 2021. This is the average inflation rate for the last 12 months.

After an eleven hour marathon of negotiations, the social partners reached an agreement. Shortly before 10:00 pm, Anita Palkovich, chief negotiator of the GPA-djp union and commercial president of WKÖ, Rainer Trefelik, presented the agreement.

“It is not an easy way”

The union-required crown employee bonus is not part of the new KV. However, the social partners agreed on a request to companies that can afford to pay a premium of at least 150 euros. “The bonus should go to employees this year and have a positive effect on consumer mood for the Christmas business in Austrian retail,” Trefelik said.

“It was not an easy road this year,” Trefelik told reporters after the negotiations ended. With the conclusion you can “ensure the desired purchasing power”. There are also signs from large commercial companies that they want to pay the Corona employee voluntary bonus, the commerce president said.

“With this title, we have made an important contribution to ensuring purchasing power at a difficult time, without overwhelming the companySo Trefelik.

“Great challenges”

During the KV negotiations, one faced “great challenges” due to the crown crisis.said Anita Palkovich, GPA-djp’s chief union negotiator. The trade unionist also referred to changes in the framework law. In the case of excessively long working hours, rest periods would be extended and on New Year’s Eve a surcharge would be charged from 1:00 p.m. These changes to the framework law will take effect on December 1.

In addition, the social partners make a recommendation to commercial companies that have the financial margin to pay a crown bonus to their employees. The negotiators stressed that it should be at least 150 euros. There are already “strong signals from large retailers” that such a bonus will be paid, according to Trefelik.

“Achieved with great mutual respect”

Due to the large differences in trade, a deal at the beginning of the CT round seemed quite unlikely. The social partners were even more pleased that this had been achieved. “It was a great challenge, but we handled it with great mutual respect,” said Palkovich, who also referred to some significant changes in the framework law, such as working hours on particularly stressful days like New Year’s Eve. In the case of excessively long working hours, rest periods would be extended and on New Year’s Eve a surcharge of 50 percent was charged from 1:00 p.m. and 100 percent from 3:00 p.m. These changes to the framework law will enter effective December 1. Securing purchasing power was a major concern for both parties. The economic effects of the corona pandemic affected the retail industry very differently. While food retailers, electronics chains, hardware stores and furniture stores posted growth in sales, revenue in the textile, footwear and motor vehicle trade plummeted. Despite all the challenges and adversities caused by the crisis, there was also a good foundation together. In fact, the overarching goal of securing the greatest number of jobs brought negotiators together rather than separated them.