Collective agreements ensure higher salaries and fair working conditions. In Austria, there is no statutory entitlement to wage or salary increases. Nor is there a statutory entitlement to holiday or Christmas bonuses. Trade unions secure these entitlements through annual collective agreement negotiations.

The collective agreement, negotiated by union-affiliated IT works council members, covers many entitlements that are not provided for by law or that go beyond statutory provisions.

In addition to increases to the total salary bill and minimum salaries, the IT collective agreement covers:

• A 38.5-hour working week (statutory normal working week: 40 hours)
• Salary grading based on duties, qualifications and length of service
• Holiday and Christmas bonuses
• Expense reimbursements and on-call duty allowances

A team of works council members from the IT sector negotiates the collective agreement on behalf of the GPA Union with employers represented by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber – UBIT Trade Association.

In Austria, around 94,000 employees are covered by the IT collective agreement. There are more than 34,000 businesses in total, but only around one fifth of them employ staff.

Yes, it is legal to strike in Austria. Freedom of assembly and association is protected under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This includes the right to form or join trade unions.

Until 2010, only minimum salaries were increased under the IT collective agreement. After tough negotiations, the GPA Union succeeded in ensuring that salaries above the minimum salary scale would also be increased from then on. However, the agreed increase is distributed individually, with scope for exceptions at company level. The GPA Union’s goal remains to make this pay model fairer.

Each collective agreement has its own reference period for determining the inflation rate for negotiations. The resulting settlements are therefore only comparable to a limited extent. For the IT collective agreement, the autumn forecast for annual inflation issued by the IHS and WIFO economic research institutes is traditionally used as the basis.

A works council must be elected if a company regularly employs at least five employees. To ensure that works council members can stand up for employees’ interests without fear, they are protected against dismissal.

You can set up a works council if there are at least five employees in your company. There are several legal steps to consider, which is why you should always establish a works council with the support of the GPA Union. Our specialists will guide you through the entire process and continue to support the elected works council members afterwards.

If you are interested in setting up a works council, please get in touch:

• By phone: 050301
• By email: service@gpa.at

We are happy to help!

As the link between employees and management, the works council has important duties and special responsibilities. For example, it monitors compliance with the collective agreement and can conclude works agreements on important workplace matters.

The works council also represents colleagues in disputes and can, for example, comment on terminations and dismissals and challenge them in court. It also has the right to receive information about the company’s financial situation and participate in company decision-making.