The Vida union and the Bord works council are once again calling on the flying staff of Austrian Airlines to take part in a works meeting on Friday, March 8, 2024. Just last Friday there was one that had a serious impact on flight operations: 138 flights were canceled.

For legal reasons, Austrian Airlines is not allowed to negotiate the new collective agreement itself, but must be represented by the Chamber of Commerce. Purely theoretically, WKO and ÖGB could also conclude an agreement over the head of the AUA management, but it is very unlikely that this will happen.

Just last Friday The Bord works council and the Vida union held a works meeting for the flying staff of Austrian Airlines. This provided information about the current status of negotiations regarding higher wages. The event resulted in a spontaneous, symbolic warning strike. This has already happened in exactly this form in the past.

Now the AUA flying employees are again invited to take part in a works meeting organized by the employee representatives on Friday, March 8, 2024. It is to be expected that many flights will be canceled again. This is exactly what makes Vienna airport director Günther Ofner really angry in his role as aviation specialist group chairman in the WKO: “The main purpose of a works meeting is to provide information about news. The Vida union should please explain to the 15.800 passengers affected by the new disruption what could have happened so important within a week that they have to inform the AUA employees and in the process leave all passengers out in the cold. "The planned works meeting is “a pure riot event”.

As is well known, Austrian Airlines is not exactly a place where top wages are paid, especially for flight attendants starting their careers. Competitors from the low-cost segment offer higher starting salaries. However, at AUA, loyalty to the company pays off, because if you have been with the company for many years, the salaries are significantly higher than those of Lauda Europe and Wizz Air Malta. In view of the fact that Austrian Airlines has massively increased prices and at the same time made many previously included services chargeable, the union is also demanding that the staff also gets their share. In other words: High income has led to a profit and as a result, wage increases are being enforced for the flying staff, who have had to make financial compromises over a long period of time due to short-time work and crisis KV. Reference is also made to the general increase in prices in everyday life. The policies of the incumbent Austrian federal government have also resulted in inflation in Austria being significantly above the EU average and prices remaining at a high level. It goes without saying: the massive increases in the price of airline tickets are also reflected in the consumer price index, for example.

The Chamber of Commerce, represented by Vienna airport boss Günther Ofner, assumes to the employee representatives that the aim is not to inform the staff, but to carry out a disruptive action. In his role as WKO specialist group chairman, he literally rejects the demands of the trade unionists, because the aviation boss is clear about the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations: “The Vida union should finally come to its senses and work on viable solutions. Flight cancellations due to disruptions endanger the location and thus your own jobs - to the delight of your competitors.