Austria signs above-inflation deals

A settlement in Austria’s metalworking and mining sector, signed last month, has increased nationally agreed pay rates by 3.6% from 1 November – well above the country’s October inflation rate of 2.8%.

The amounts actually paid to individual employees are guaranteed to rise by at least 3.5%, and there will be a one-off cash payment of €200 in March 2008 – although this can be reduced to €150 if company profits are low, or to nothing if the company is making a loss.

As is usual in Austria, the agreement applies directly to all 164,000 employees in the industry – but it does provide for 0.3% of the settlement to be locally negotiated between elected works councils and company management. If no local deal has been reached by 14 December, the 3.5% increase will apply to all the company’s employees across the board.

Another pay deal, covering half a million employees in retail and wholesale distribution, was signed on 8 November and will take effect on 1 January 2008. It increases basic rates by 3.1% or €45 a month, whichever is the higher, resulting in a 3.3% average increase.

The GPA union, which negotiated the award, regards the €bull45 underpin as “particularly satisfying”, with negotiator Manfred Wolf commenting that the settlement will help “the army of low paid” in the sector.

The agreements are likely to set the trend for other Austrian settlements, with negotiations now under way for bank staff and those in central government.