Austria chem wage talks to resume on 30 May

13 May 2008 17:34  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--Wage negotiations for Austria’s 42,000 chemical workers are scheduled to resume on 30 May after three earlier rounds of talks failed, chemical producers association FCIO and union GDC said on Tuesday.

 

The previous collective contract between the Gewerkschaft der Chemiearbeiter (GdC) union and employers expired on 1 May.

 

The union is demanding a wage increase of at least 4%, compared with a staggered offer by employers in the 3.5-3.75% range and a one-off payment.

 

The employers' offer reflected an increase of over 1% in real wages after taking into account inflation, FCIO said.

 

The union's 4% demand was not acceptable in light of lower chemical industry growth forecast for this year, it added.

 

According to union GDC, the employers’ offer amounted to an increase of 3.3% plus a one-off payment.

 

GDC looked forward to constructive talks with employers on 30 May, but should negotiations fail would not hesitate to initiate further union action, it said.

 

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Chemical Business podcast November 2, 2009)

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