From . – 03/22/2024 3:17 p.m. (act. 03/22/2024 8:23 p.m.)
Are there strikes at the AUA? ©APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER (symbol image)
After the unsuccessful negotiations over a collective agreement (KV) for the on-board staff, the labor conflict at Austrian Airlines (AUA) could become even more serious.
The vida union currently sees only limited scope for discussions because the AUA board has flown to Frankfurt. An AUA spokeswoman immediately denied this. “We are not the ones who got on the plane,” said Daniel Liebhart, chairman of vida’s aviation department, to the APA on Friday.
At the AUA, the labor conflict has escalated further after negotiations on a collective agreement (KV) for the on-board staff were not resumed until Friday evening – after the break-up on Thursday.
A board member asked works council leader Rainer Stratberger by telephone to continue speaking. The AUA spokeswoman did not want to name the board member – in any case, the works council did not want to comply with the request, she said. A spokeswoman for the employee side could not be reached at short notice for a comment.
As reported, the employee representatives do not see anything in the AUA offer – and are demanding a new offer. However, there were no signs of this happening.
Work meetings and strikes?
If the AUA does not submit a “serious offer”, the union and the on-board works council will determine the next steps in the evening, Daniel Liebhart, chairman of vida’s aviation department, emphasized to the APA on Friday. “We’re not the ones who got on the plane.”
This could result in company meetings or strikes by on-board staff with around 3,500 employees. This would hit airlines and travelers hard during Easter week. The most recent board staff meeting resulted in 120 flight cancellations. There are around 300 flights during the Easter period, and one day of strike costs around 10 million euros, an AUA spokeswoman told the APA.
There is hardly any lead time required for a strike, said Liebhart. “We just need to press a button to inform the employees.” Accordingly, a strike could be called for tomorrow.
“Responsible decision” announced
A works meeting, on the other hand, must be organized by the works council. “We will make a responsible decision,” announced the trade unionist. AUA board works council leader Rainer Stratberger did not want to comment for the time being.
However, there is a rejection from the AUA: “We expect the union and the works council to return to the negotiating table and negotiate,” said the AUA. “What needs to be clear is: We will not let the media set a deadline for us, but we expect discussions about the offer we have presented.”
New AUA offer required
Trigger of the labor dispute: The employee representatives broke off the negotiations on Thursday evening and are demanding a new offer from the airline. The present offer only covers inflation and there is no increase in real wages, the union also said. The current salary structure is also significantly lower than that of the German parent company Lufthansa.
Willingness to negotiate at AUA
The AUA is available for negotiations at any time, said a company spokeswoman. The airline’s offer includes salary increases of 18 percent and up to 28 percent for co-pilots, the AUA said. However, the KV should then apply until the end of 2025. According to the AUA, the union’s demand amounts to increases of up to 40 percent with a validity of 10 months. “We would have made a loss last year,” the AUA said. However, the union noted that these were numbers games. And: They are definitely prepared to negotiate a KV for the next 22 months – i.e. until the end of 2025.
The AUA also referred to the employee bonus: the airline is paying out a total of around 30 million euros this year; if the airline is economically successful, employees would receive up to an extra month’s salary. And they are prepared to increase the bonus so that employees could receive up to two months’ salary in the future.