The first meeting before the Federal Conciliation Office, which was called by the Association of Private Hospitals for arbitration due to the stalled collective bargaining negotiations, was unsuccessful on March 9. No union representative attended the meeting. The two parties had previously held further talks and attempted to reach an agreement. While the employer's committees have been in agreement for several days, there is still no official feedback from the union on the negotiation result that has already been achieved.
"Regardless of the date agreed for March 9 at the Federal Conciliation Office, we have been working hard on the employer side in recent weeks to reach an agreement with vida at the negotiating table," explains Stephan Günther, General Secretary and KV negotiator for the Association of Private Hospitals. These talks were also very promising and the result of the negotiations was then submitted to the respective committees for approval. "On the employer side, we were able to obtain approval very quickly. We were also informed by vida that the works council conference had given its approval. However, the survey subsequently conducted among the employees was stopped again by the union, and we have no further information on this. As the union representatives also failed to attend the meeting at the Federal Conciliation Office, it was still not possible to reach an agreement," says Günther, regretting the lack of willingness to reach an agreement on the part of vida.
Attempt at mediation by the Federal Mediation Office
The attractive offer for employees includes an average increase of 11.2%. In addition, a minimum wage of EUR 2,000 and a reduction in working hours by one hour from mid-2023 were offered. "We have improved the offer for employees several times and have also been able to obtain the approval of our committees for the negotiation result that has already been achieved. However, it is not clear to us why the union first agrees to a result but then fails to provide any official feedback at all and why the appointment with the Federal Conciliation Office is also not attended," says Günther, at a loss as to how an agreement is to be reached. "The union's unwillingness to reach an agreement is ultimately at the expense of the employees in the companies, who have been left in uncertainty for several months now and still have to wait for their collective agreement."
About the association
The Association of Austrian Private Hospitals has represented the interests of legal entities of private hospitals since 1953 and has its own collective bargaining capacity. It represents one of the main pillars of the Austrian healthcare system. Further information can be found at www.privatkrankenanstalten.at
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Doris Lenhardt
Himmelhoch GmbH
Wohllebengasse 4/6+7, 1040 Vienna
Mobile: +43 650 400 27 81
E-mail: doris.lenhardt@himmelhoch.at