The bus industry in Austria has been facing challenges in recent months due to unsuccessful collective bargaining negotiations, leading to nationwide protest actions on Thursday. According to the union vida, employers are relying on “lower wages” for foreign workers through the use of Red-White-Red cards instead of improving working conditions. The ongoing dispute over the collective agreement (KV) affects 12,000 employees at private bus companies.

According to vida, the negotiations have been ongoing for two years, and recently, employers presented a “false promise.” The minimal improvements offered are countered by significant reductions in other areas. “Employees would have to largely finance the requested reliefs themselves, despite a severe shortage of staff,” criticized vida.

vida: Remove Bus Drivers from the Shortage Occupation List

Yvonne Rychly, Deputy Chairwoman of vida Wien, stated: “Employers are clearly opting for more easily exploited drivers with Red-White-Red cards from outside the EU and lower wages, instead of making the sector more attractive.” She called for bus drivers to be removed from the shortage occupation list and reminded that Vienna will face a shortage of up to 5,000 drivers in the next five years.

Susanne Haase, Head of vida Wien, elaborated on the “false promise” accusation: “The inflation rate used in the KV negotiations is not the annual inflation rate for 2024, as incorrectly stated by the employers, but the rolling inflation from October 2023 to November 2024, which is 3.5 percent.” She also corrected claims that union demands for wage increases and improvements in working conditions amounted to more than 10 percent.

vida Demands a 3.7% Wage Increase

vida is demanding a 3.7 percent wage increase plus a “real” improvement in the collective agreement’s framework. “It’s primarily about deductions for work breaks, night shifts, and relief measures to ensure workers can continue in their jobs until retirement,” said Haase. She criticized some bus companies for investing too little in employee qualifications. “Instead, employers now prefer to have the driver’s license training for colleagues paid by the public unemployment insurance system,” Haase said on Thursday.

Haase also called on the future federal government to stop labor migration from third countries to the domestic labor market. “Employers are using these workers as leverage to push wages and working conditions down,” she argued. There have also been recent complaints about employers interfering with company meetings.

KV Minimum Wage at 2,773 Euros Gross

In contrast, Martin Horvath, Industry Chairman at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), emphasized that employers had offered a 3.5 percent wage increase. He also highlighted a proposal to regulate night shift premiums between 11:00 PM and 12:00 AM for public transport drivers. “Over the last six years, we’ve increased the starting wage for new recruits by 45 percent,” Horvath said. Currently, the KV minimum wage for bus drivers is 2,773 euros gross per month.

Horvath also pointed out that fewer than 1 percent of drivers are currently employed with Red-White-Red cards. He stated that employers cover the costs of the mandatory 35-hour training for bus drivers and pay for the training as working hours. Additionally, unpaid rest breaks have been reduced.

ÖAMTC Points to Serious Accidents Involving Heavy Vehicles

The next KV negotiation is scheduled for February 17. “However, if another false promise is put on the negotiation table, employees will hold their first warning strike on February 20, 2025,” warned vida in advance. So far, 60 company meetings and online sessions have taken place from late January to the present.

The ÖAMTC (Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle, and Touring Club) has pointed to serious accidents involving trucks and calls for more inspections to ensure safety. “Unfortunately, the proportion of fatalities has been rising again in recent years. While trucks over 3.5 tons were involved in only 3.6 percent of all traffic accidents in 2023, they accounted for 16.2 percent of fatal accidents—four and a half times as much,” said ÖAMTC traffic technician David Nosé.