Agreement in the Trade Collective Agreement: Salaries Increase by 2.55 Percent

The annual inflation rate underlying the negotiations is 3 percent. "Today's agreement is a compromise in light of the economic situation," said GPA Federal Managing Director Mario Ferrari.

The collective agreement applies to around 430,000 retail employees and 20,000 apprentices. For WKÖ Trade Chairman Rainer Trefelik, "an attractive overall package" was negotiated. "Today, after very intensive but constructive negotiations, we reached an agreement that takes this difficult environment into account and allows for additional flexibility within the framework," said Trefelik.

Union: "Important Improvements" in Working Conditions

According to its own statements, the union has achieved "important improvements" in working conditions. Given the high number of part-time employees in retail, "the possibility of increasing working hours with regular overtime is a decisive step towards better working time quality in the industry," said union chief negotiator Ferrari. Additionally, the collective agreement stipulates that the distribution of the weekly normal working hours can be reduced to five days through a company agreement.

WKÖ: Flexibility of Working Hours on Saturdays

According to the Chamber of Commerce, there is also a flexibility of working hours on Saturdays and an increase in bonuses for excellent and good results in apprenticeship exams.

The Trade Association, which was not involved in the negotiations as a voluntary interest group, thanked the negotiators on both sides "for their sense of responsibility in a still difficult economic situation." "Now there is planning security for retail employees, and we hope for economic growth and a good market environment," said Trade Association Managing Director Rainer Will.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.