Trade union circles told the APA that the hindrances in trade are limited. An agreement was expected and therefore no corresponding preparations were made.
Warning strikes were to be expected in Innsbruck, in the Europark in Salzburg and in the Maxi Markt in Linz. The union announced that demonstrations were also planned in St. Pölten, Graz and Klagenfurt. In Klagenfurt, access to a shopping center is to be blocked as part of the demonstration.
The scope of the warning strikes varies, according to the union. “We have areas where 100 employees take part,” said Helga Fichtinger from the union in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”, “but we also have branches where 10.15 employees are.”
Smaller warning strikes in Upper Austria
The warning strikes in retailers in Upper Austria, for example, were smaller than the union had hoped. On Saturday morning there was a strike in two Maximarkt branches in Linz and Haid. Only just under a third of employees took part, many continued to work. The employee representatives accuse the shops of putting pressure on employees who are ready to strike, reports ORF. The GPA had therefore hoped that the business would remain intact, said regional secretary Sonja Kowaleinen: “Of course that would have been our goal, but unfortunately that doesn’t work – also due to pressure from managers or management, who still put pressure on the employees.” Many people are not aware that they have the right to strike and they fear for their jobs.
“If a business on a shopping street goes on strike for an hour, the shopping experience is not diminished,” noted retail chairman Rainer Trefelik in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”.
The Handels-KV is about the salaries of 430,000 employees and apprentices. In five rounds, the social partners have so far failed to reach a salary agreement for 2024. The union is insisting on an increase of at least the annual inflation rate of 9.2 percent. Employers recently offered 8 percent.
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Retail is also fighting for fair KV on the 2nd shopping weekend
