In the third round, employer and employee representatives agreed on a commercial KV agreement below the inflation rate. The minimum salaries for employees will increase by 2.55 percent on January 1, 2026. The annual inflation underlying the negotiations is 3 percent. “Today’s conclusion is a compromise given the economic situation,” said GPA Federal Managing Director Mario Ferrari.
The collective agreement applies to around 430,000 commercial employees and 20,000 apprentices. “An attractive overall package” was negotiated for WKÖ trade chairman Rainer Trefelik. “Today, after very intensive but constructive negotiations, we reached an agreement that takes this difficult environment into account and allows additional flexibility within the framework,” said Trefelik.
Union: “Important improvements” in working conditions
The union says it has achieved “important improvements” in working conditions. Given the high number of part-time employees in retail, “the possibility of increasing working hours with regular overtime is a decisive step towards better working time quality in the industry,” said the union’s chief negotiator Ferrari. The collective agreement also stipulates that the distribution of normal weekly working hours can be reduced to five days by means of a works agreement.
WKÖ: Flexibility of working hours on Saturdays
According to the Chamber of Commerce, there will also be more flexibility in working hours on Saturdays and an increase in bonuses for excellent and good results in final apprenticeship examinations.
The trade association, which was not involved in the negotiations as a voluntary interest group, thanked the negotiators on both sides “for their sense of responsibility in a continued difficult economic situation.” “Now there is planning security for retail employees and we hope for economic growth and a good market environment,” says trade association managing director Rainer Will.