In the dispute over the collective agreement for on-board staff Austrian Airlines (3,500 employees) there was no solution in sight on Thursday either. “There are discussions at various levels, but there is no negotiation date,” said AUA spokeswoman Sophie Matkovits to KURIER. The union also confirmed various discussions. Nothing appears to have changed in the airline’s offering. After 20 rounds of negotiations, it is offering flying personnel, including around 900 pilots, a KV increase of 18 percent, eight percent of which this year and a further five percent each for 2025 and 2026. Co-pilots should also receive up to ten percent more .
Meanwhile, the on-board works council and the Vida union want to reduce the gap between salaries at AUA and the parent company Lufthansa. According to the union, Lufthansa employees earn up to 40 percent more. “The bottom line is that the AUA management has now presented an offer that has been improved, but has been extended in time,” said Vida Aviation boss Daniel Liebhart a few days ago. “The difference to the previous offer is only minimal. This also means that the underpayment and unequal treatment of Austrian employees in the German Lufthansa group will continue to the same extent.”
90 percent against
The AUA’s offer was rejected by the union cabin crew in a vote with a majority of 90 percent. “Against all reason, the Vida union has once again persuaded the workforce to reject a KV agreement that was just acceptable for the AUA company,” complained the representatives of the aviation umbrella organization AI Austria. The longer the KV dispute lasts, the greater the damage to the AUA. Further strikes cannot be ruled out.