The Austrian employee representatives show their solidarity with the striking security forces at German airports. According to Vida, a sharp increase in hourly wages for safety-critical professions would also be necessary in Austria.

“Security forces at airports make a significant contribution to guaranteeing smooth and safe air traffic. However, the pay and working conditions in this field are shockingly bad. Our German colleagues can therefore be sure of our solidarity from Austria,” say Daniel Liebhart, chairman of the aviation department in the Vida trade union, and Ernst Kreissler, chairman of the Vida security committee, on the call for a strike by the German service trade union Verdi on the security forces several German airports.

The reason for the industrial dispute is that no increase in wages could be achieved in the previous collective bargaining. “The situation is no better at Vienna Airport either. According to Flughafen-KV, the starting salary for security staff with special training in aviation is just 9,94 euros per hour. For a full-time position, this corresponds to EUR 1.722 gross per month and is clearly in the low wage range of Austrian collective agreements. And this despite the fact that these aviation workers are the spearhead of the security services,” criticizes Liebhart.  

“The industry is characterized by high fluctuation. This is not surprising, since the high workload and the great responsibility in the job bear no relation to the salary and a high work pressure weighs on the shoulders of the employees. A higher hourly wage would not only show more appreciation for the employees and their work, but would also ensure that the industry has adequately qualified staff,” says Kreissler. "The fact that the warning strikes will have an impact on air traffic shows not least the great responsibility that aviation security personnel bear every day in their job," conclude Liebhart and Kreissler.