Van Martin Meirut
After tough negotiations, the Vida union and the company agreed Thursday evening to a pay raise for AUA's board employees. According to a report published by VIDA, the salaries of about 2,500 flight attendants and 1,000 pilots are to be gradually increased by 20 percent by 2026. The salary of co-pilots will also increase by eleven percent.
“This negotiated settlement is a significant above-inflation rate increase in salaries for staff on the AUA's board,” he said. Daniel Lipard, Head of Aviation at Vida. On the other hand, the fact that the increase must be staggered over three years provides the company with planning security.
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The agreement is subject to a positive vote by union members, although this may be a formality.
Duty of Peace
However, the risk of further strikes should be avoided in the long run. Because VIDA and the AUA agreed to a so-called peace obligation during the contract. This means that there should be no operational disruption due to strikes during the term of the collective agreement until 2026. “This means that in the years to come passengers will be able to book their flight tickets with Austrian Airlines without hesitation,” Lippart said.
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Depending on how the 2025 fiscal year plays out, salaries could increase by another two percentage points in April 2026. Workload should be reduced and insurance should be improved in case of loss of pilot's license for medical reasons.
Over 20 rounds of negotiation
This year's negotiations were more difficult and lasted 20 rounds since mid-January. Due to this, the work was halted. Hundreds of flights were canceled including over the Easter weekend. As a result, the company suffered a loss of lakhs. The union said wages should be in line with those at parent company Lufthansa. That would have been an average wage increase of 30 percent, but management found it too high.
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AUA employer Annette Mann The Lufthansa Group also threatened the potential consequences of increased use of Vienna Airport with other subsidiaries if costs at AUA rise sharply due to higher wages. The union criticized AUA for being promoted as a low-cost airline within the Lufthansa group. The AUA and VIDA recently agreed to remain silent on the progress of negotiations, after a long period of public fighting over the conflict.
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Gunther Offner, the head of Vienna Airport and the head of aviation at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) welcomed the conclusion of the talks in a broadcast. This will allow both employees and customers to “finally breathe a sigh of relief again”.
