At the end of last week, Austrian Airlines announced that a greatly improved offer had been sent to the employee representatives on the onboard works council. The Vida union did not want to comment on this at first, but is now launching a sweeping attack and even describing the AUA board's proposal as "fake news".

The fronts between Austrian Airlines and the employee representatives seem to be particularly hardened at the moment, because Vida is now even saying that strike action can no longer be ruled out in principle. Nevertheless, they sit on the negotiating table, but coupled with the threat that if no solution is found by Maundy Thursday, then industrial action – including a possible strike – will be called.

According to its own information, Austrian Airlines submitted one at the end of the previous week improved offer. The fact that the carrier also informed various media about some key points was unusual. This must have annoyed the works council and the union, because the content of the information that was given to the public was rejected. A works meeting was held on Tuesday, attended by around 1.200 flying AUA employees. According to Vida, they unanimously rejected the latest offer and voted for further action.

Bonuses for management under criticism

The employee representatives criticize particularly sharply that savings packages and thus lower wages have been in place for the "rank and file" for years, but that high bonus payments are now being paid out again for the management. This should also be questionable in view of the fact that the state-guaranteed loan was only paid off towards the end of the previous year, because special payments are to be made to the management again for the 2022 financial year.

“The employees are particularly outraged because the management wants to pay out bonuses to themselves and the executives retrospectively, while the employees have had to endure a mega savings package in the last four years and also had to cope with further salary losses as a result of the short-time work caused by the crisis. For example, flight attendants with a gross basic salary of 1.850 euros have invested up to one and a half month's salary in the AUA, while board members now want to treat themselves to bonuses of up to one year's salary, criticizes the Vida union, which still had to reach an agreement on Maundy Thursday, April 6th is striving for the negotiation path, but then no longer wants to rule out a labor dispute,” reads a media statement by Vida.

Works council contradicts AUA information

With regard to the publicly announced offer, department chair Daniel Liebhart adds: “The workforce has contributed to the good business result of the airline with short-time work, wage cuts and massive work commitments. She now feels a lack of appreciation. The fake news about the offer, which the management spread in the public and in the media, because the offer is worth much less than it is being rumored to the media, also did the rest. All this together has led to today's result of the works meeting".

Rainer Stratberger, Chairman of the AUA Board Works Council, also explained during the meeting that the calculations by the employee representatives had shown that there would not be 12,3 percent, but only 8,5 percent more wages. “Mainly because the offer would not be valid retrospectively from January. In addition, we had to bear severe salary losses of up to 15 percent due to the austerity package. In other words, there have been no real wage increases for us in the last four years,” said the BR chairman. "In doing so, we will convey to the management that the offer is still insufficient and that there is still the possibility to improve it until Maundy Thursday in order to achieve a result". If this does not happen, according to Daniel Liebhart, things should continue as follows: “Otherwise there will be further measures from Maundy Thursday. A labor dispute right up to a strike is definitely no longer out of the question. But a strike is not the goal, we want a result. After more than ten rounds of negotiations, all the facts are on the table. There is also the option of informing the workforce about the status of negotiations at another works meeting - it does not necessarily have to come to the last escalation level".