Five of the six separate bargaining rounds that recently took place in the Austrian metal industry have had the same outcome: wage increases between 3 and 3.4 percent depending on the position in the company. Even though the social partners in the mining and steel (Bergbau-Stahl) industry have not finished negotiating as we publish this article, there are very few doubts as to the outcome. The unions concerned - Pro.GE (manufacturing) and GPA.djp (private sector) - are thus pointing out that, even if employers broke with the tradition of having a single negotiation and agreement for the sector's 6 federations, the result is the same: the same collective agreement for all. Berndt-Thomas Krafft, general secretary of the FMMI, the biggest employers' organization in the sector, told Planet Labor that his conclusions were not the same and rejoiced with the progress made. (Ref. 120642)
Agreements in line. In April, the Austrian metal employers shocked their union partners when they demanded the end of the tradition of a single negotiation and agreement for the 6 federations in the sector (180,000 employees). They wanted individual negotiations, which they got, as well as progress on flexible working time (see our dispatches No. 120272 and 120532). On October 19, the negotiations between the FMMI (120,000 employees) and the trade unions led to an agreement which was recent
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