Who Holds the Power in AUA: Meet the Players

The dispute over the collective agreement for on-board staff at Austrian Airlines with 3,500 employees has not seen any resolution on Thursday. According to AUA spokeswoman Sophie Matkovits, discussions are ongoing at various levels but no negotiation date has been set yet. The union has also confirmed that discussions are taking place, but there has been no change in the airline’s offering.

After 20 rounds of negotiations, Austrian Airlines is offering flying personnel, including around 900 pilots, an increase in the collective agreement of 18 percent. This includes an eight percent increase for this year and an additional five percent for 2025 and 2026. Co-pilots are also expected to receive up to ten percent more. However, the on-board works council and the Vida union are pushing to reduce the salary gap between AUA and its parent company Lufthansa, where employees earn up to 40 percent more.

The Vida Aviation boss Daniel Liebhart stated that the AUA management improved their offer but extended the timeline. This minimal change in the offer means that the underpayment and unequal treatment of Austrian employees within the Lufthansa group will continue. Despite the improvement in the offer, the union cabin crew rejected it with a majority of 90 percent.

The aviation umbrella organization AI Austria criticized the Vida union for persuading the workforce to reject an agreement that was acceptable to the AUA company. The longer the dispute over the collective agreement lasts, the more damage it causes to Austrian Airlines. Further strikes are not out of the question as the negotiations continue.