Social Economy Collective Agreement: Three-Day Strike Wave at Over 120 Locations Starting Tomorrow

In the social economy, strikes will take place from Tuesday to Thursday at numerous locations for a few hours. So far, strike resolutions have been reported from around 120 locations, according to the Union of Private Employees (GPA) on Monday to the APA. More resolutions from the companies are continuously being added, said GPA spokesperson Daniel Gürtler. The employees want to emphasize their demands for a four percent wage increase.

Unions Demand Four Percent More Wages

The strikes were already announced on the night of Friday after the collective agreement negotiations stalled after the third round. Now the corresponding resolutions followed in the company meetings of the companies of around 130,000 employees in private health, social, and care professions. The strike approval by the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) has also already been granted, according to the GPA on Monday. Strikes will take place in all federal states except Vienna starting Tuesday, and in the federal capital starting Wednesday, according to the GPA.

Action at the End of the Strike Week on Thursday

For Thursday, the union is planning an action to conclude the strike week in Vienna's Ignaz Kuranda Park in front of the employer association Social Economy Austria (SWÖ). Employees will form a "light crowd" so that the employers "see the light," according to the GPA. A "fair offer" is demanded at the next round of negotiations next week (December 11).

Clients of the companies or their relatives need not worry about the strikes, assured GPA spokesperson Gürtler once again. Nevertheless, the strikes will be such that the employer side will "feel" them - possible effects include cancellations of excursions or, in certain areas, closures to customer traffic for a few hours.

Employer Offer Too Low for Union

After a protest rally last Wednesday, the third round of collective agreement negotiations ended without an agreement on Friday night. The offer presented by the employers of an average of 1.71 percent on collective agreement salaries and 1.3 percent on actual salaries for 2026, as well as 1.65 percent on collective agreement and actual salaries for 2027, was deemed "insufficient," according to the unions GPA and vida.

Specifically, the offer proposed that salaries in 2026 would increase by 2.8 percent for everyone with a collective agreement gross income under 2,400 euros, by 1.8 percent for those with a collective agreement gross income under 3,000 euros, by 1.75 percent for those with a collective agreement gross income under 3,500 euros, and by 1.3 percent for those with a higher collective agreement gross income (all full-time). Actual salaries are to increase by 1.3 percent in 2026, allowances and bonuses by 1.65 percent, and apprentice incomes by 2.8 percent. In 2027, all collective agreement and actual salaries are to increase by 1.65 percent.

Employers: "We are dependent on the public sector"

The employer side, social organizations such as Volkshilfe, have so far been understanding but unable to act. "We are dependent on the public sector," emphasized the chairman of the Social Economy Austria and managing director of Volkshilfe, Erich Fenninger, last week. On Sunday evening, he further explained on ORF's ZiB2 that they have always secured the inflation rate, "plus added something" - that would be his claim. But: "This year it is not possible," he said, referring to the cuts by politics and the federal states.

"We are experiencing countries that valorize only one percent at most, so it is currently not possible. So in that respect, I would like to say that we have understanding for the union," said Fenninger on Sunday evening. "We need to put pressure on politics to adequately finance the social benefits of tomorrow."

Regarding the question of whether an agreement could be reached before Christmas, the SWÖ chairman was skeptical: "Difficult, if the states are not willing to valorize sufficiently here, then it will not be easy."

(APA/Red)

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