Unraveling of Salary Agreement Would Be "Fatal" According to Civil Servants' Chief
Unraveling the salary agreement would be "fatal" for the chairman of the Public Service Union (GÖD), Eckehard Quin. "If I interfere there, it means that I ignore negotiation results and effectively terminate the social partnership," said Quin on "Radio GÖD". The agreement stipulates that for 2026, salaries will be adjusted 0.3 percent above inflation, after they were increased by the same value below inflation this year.
Wifo Chief for Lower Agreement
Wifo chief Gabriel Felbermayr advocated for a lower agreement this week. Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) then stated that one could talk about it, should there be a general willingness for restraint in the negotiations of the social partners. At the same time, he stood by the decision: "One should adhere to laws as much as possible."
It is not just about 0.3 percentage points more or less salary, Quin also emphasized. Rather, a result emerged from the social partnership negotiations that was supported by both sides and legally anchored. "If agreements are broken, then negotiations stop, because then negotiations are a waste of irretrievable lifetime." In Austria, it has so far been successful to balance interests between employers and employees at the negotiation table and not on the street.
Handshake Quality Important for GÖD Chief
Politics is already suffering greatly from a bad image, Quin said. "I believe you cannot improve your image if you present yourself as an unreliable partner, as someone who cannot be trusted." Personally, he also values handshake quality, said the GÖD chief - but in the case of the salary agreement, the result was not only verbally promised but also written and even legally recorded. "If such an agreement is broken, one should not be surprised if no one trusts you anymore." However, he is a professional optimist and has not yet received any signal from his negotiation counterpart that an unraveling of the agreement is actually being sought.
(APA/Red)
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