Vida and AUA reach an agreement: more wages for flying employees
Austrian Airlines recorded two significant events on Wednesday: On the one hand, the first commercial flight with the Airbus A320neo aircraft was carried out with the OE-LZN, and on the other hand, an agreement was reached with the Vida union on wage increases for flying personnel. Most recently, there was a fierce dispute over the austerity package that was concluded at the beginning of the pandemic. In the meantime, the cost of living in Austria has risen enormously, but AUA continued to stick to the wage cuts. It did not look at all like things would go well without a strike or similar protest measures. Only last week, employee representatives threatened a strike decision by the Austrian Trade Union Confederation. At the same time, however, they emphasized that this would only be the last resort, because they were still relying on dialogue, i.e. the negotiating table. Austrian Airlines originally wanted to pay a maximum of 6,99 percent more wages. Before that, however, the "flyers" had to accept losses of 10,08 percent after short-time work ended. Next year, the figure would have been 12,73 percent again. The exact extent of the savings package varies depending on the job and income. But now things are different: As of January 1, 2023, wages will increase by eight percent and from June 1, 2023, by another 12,73 percent. Taking the previous cuts into account, this means an average increase of 10,4 percent, according to the Vida union. The negotiations, which are formally conducted by the social partners, are said to have been complicated. Austrian Airlines is under pressure due to the corona pandemic, the state loans that have not yet been fully repaid, and the sharp rise in costs. The latter