The 80,000 banking employees in Austria got a 2.55% increase on April 1, i.e. barely more than the inflation level in 2012 (2.4%). This rather lean agreement was reached after particularly tense negotiations, notably because of the difficult situation Austrian banks are in, suffering from the aftermath of the financial crisis, like their counterparts in Europe, and from their traditionally high commitment in eastern European countries. Executives' pay will be negotiated at company level between the management and WC. The agreement was signed on March 28 and will run for one year. (Ref. 130220)
Like last year, the 2013 collective bargaining round in the Austrian banking industry was particularly complicated. Indeed, four meetings and nearly 200 general workers’ meetings (preludes to warning strikes) were necessary for the sector’s social partners – the GPA-djp private sector union and VÖBB banking employers’ organization to reach an agreement which, according to union negotiator Wolfgang Pischinger, “doesn’t make anybody happy.”
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