Strike Week of the Social Economy Ended with Protest in Vienna

With a loud protest action in front of the office of the Employers' Association of the Social Economy Austria (SWÖ) in Vienna, employees in the social economy ended their strike week on Thursday afternoon. Once again, a four percent wage increase was demanded. Previously, work had been stopped for hours at numerous locations. The employers' side again pointed to the difficult circumstances, while the unions spoke of "cheap excuses".

"Light Crowd" in Vienna: Employees Send a Signal

Several hundred employees equipped with light sticks in the private health, social, and care professions took part in the demonstration at Ignaz-Kuranda-Park in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. It was hoped that the "light crowd" would make the employers "see the light", it was said. The deputy GPA managing director Carina Köpf once again rejected the employers' offer as "absolutely unacceptable" amid applause. vida General Secretary Anna Daimler spoke of "wage theft". "We are ready to strike," chanted the employees.

Protests at More Than 300 Locations

The action week of the social economy employees began on Tuesday with strikes in the federal states, followed by businesses in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday. According to GPA, protests took place at more than 300 locations of the approximately 130,000 employees in the social economy between Tuesday and Thursday. A "fair offer" was demanded for the next round of negotiations next week (December 11).

Employers Demand More Prudence

From the employer's side - social organizations such as Volkshilfe - there was understanding, but they pointed to the difficult circumstances due to cuts by the federal and state governments and therefore called for more prudence in the collective bargaining negotiations. "In the social and health sector, which currently has to bear the most extensive cuts in decades, insisting on a 4 percent wage increase, the highest in comparison in this year's negotiations, is simply unrealistic and does not contribute to an improvement in working conditions," criticized SWÖ Managing Director Yvonne Hochsteiner in a statement on Thursday.

The warning strikes would be directed against the wrong people, namely "against those who have been fighting for funding for months, not against those who are blocking it," said Hochsteiner. Once again, an appeal was made to the public sector to provide sufficient funds to not jeopardize the security of supply in the welfare state. The industry is facing massive cuts with devastating impacts, it was warned.

Union Criticizes "Cheap Blame Shifting"

The unions GPA and vida promptly rejected this angrily and spoke of "cheap blame shifting." It was suggested that the managements had no responsibility for the financing of the services of social enterprises and thus also for the salary development of employees. However, it is the task of the company managements to secure their companies in the long term.

The strikes had already been announced in the early hours of last Friday, after the collective bargaining negotiations ended without agreement after the third round. The employers proposed an average increase 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. The unions are demanding not only a four percent increase but also improvements in working conditions, especially for part-time workers.

(APA/Red)

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