On 13 November and 1 December, the annual negotiations with the umbrella organisation on the revaluation of collective agreement salaries took place. The following demands were submitted by the GÖD to the umbrella organisation:

• Salary increase in line with inflation: 3% for 2026 and 2% for 2027
• Salary agreement effective from 1 January 2026
• Further improvement of the B1 scheme
• Recognition of equivalent post-doctoral service periods
• Overtime pay for part-time employees for additional work

The negotiating partners' positions were far apart. The starting point was extremely unfavourable for the GÖD's demands: in many sectors, wage agreements reached in the autumn were very moderate and below the inflation rate. In addition, it became known in November that the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research (BMFWF) still had a funding gap of approximately EUR 150 million for the Research, Technology and Innovation (FTI) Pact – details can be found in the following article. This signalled a ‘play off’ between the differently financed areas of non-university-funded third-party research and universities.

The prospects for an acceptable agreement were therefore bleak, even though the pressure exerted by rising inflation on the income situation of precarious temporary and part-time employees had already reached the staff representatives. There were loud calls for agreements that would not exacerbate the tangible effects of inflation, with a 2.55% increase cited as the most reasonable minimum. There were also suggestions to continue negotiations on the countless open issues in the framework legislation, such as extensions to the calculation of previous periods of service, extension circumstances, sabbatical regulations, regulations regarding location-independent working and overtime regulations. 

On the employer side, threats were then made in the negotiations with regard to inflationary pressures and the resulting staff cuts. We also rejected comparisons with other sectors (e.g. the metalworking industry or trade) due to the specific financing and service provision situation.

The outcome of the negotiations is very far removed from these ideas and wishes:

• There is a 2-year agreement
• 2026 + 1.65 per cent, but at least €60
• 2027 + 1.3 per cent, but at least €60
• No further assurances for the continuation of framework negotiations

The bottom line is that real wages will fall – there's no sugar-coating it! This also became clear at the virtual, nationwide works meeting on 5 December 2025, where Martin Tiefenthaler, chair of Federal Executive Committee 13, presented the outcome of the negotiations. Many of the more than 500 colleagues who were present at times also expressed their disappointment and incomprehension about the result in comments and questions.

This year's revaluation results are disappointing. Against this backdrop, it may seem counterproductive at first glance to encourage people in your circle to join a trade union. However, on closer inspection and with a view to upcoming negotiations, a visible increase in membership could significantly strengthen the negotiating power of the bargaining parties. The union is a fighting organisation. It can fight if it has enough members. Among university staff, union membership is in the single digits. So if you have colleagues in your circle who are interested in politics, encourage them to join. Change the union from within the union!

One of the union's key objectives is to improve the career prospects of all academic and artistic staff. We are also committed to ensuring that more permanent positions are created for staff financed by global and third-party funds. The university must not place obstacles in the way of those who finance themselves with the help of third-party funding. They should finally be given permanent contracts instead of being hindered in their research.

Against this backdrop, there were lengthy negotiations with the umbrella organisation. The rectors emphasised that the universities want to give more third-party-funded staff permanent contracts. However, their condition is that they can terminate permanent project staff at the end of the month even after five years. Until now, this was only possible at the end of the quarter.

The GÖD, together with the umbrella organisation, has drafted Section 21 (2a), which increases the termination options for permanent project staff from 4 to 12, and a joint declaration in Section 81, which aims to establish the conditions for the application and increase of permanent contracts in the area of third-party funding. The aim of these measures is to promote more permanent contracts.

Section 21 (2a) only applies if the discontinuation or reduction of third-party project funding prevents employment at the relevant organisational unit from being more than temporary. However, if the person has submitted an application for third-party funding, the university will cover the costs for a transitional period of up to 12 months until new or continued funding from third-party sources is secured for the relevant organisational unit. The application process must not be hindered. The validity of Section 21 (2a) is limited in time and initially applies for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029. We will monitor developments closely!

If developments and evaluations are positive, i.e. if there is an increase in the number of permanent positions for women and men employed with third-party funding, and if university management supports applications for funding for self-employment to work on a scientific project beyond the maximum limit for fixed-term contracts, both sides will seek an extension.

In order to better understand these developments, we need your feedback. Please let us know directly or via your works council colleagues how the situation is developing in your areas. These developments are a very important source of information for us!

The interests of employees are represented in close cooperation between three key organisations, which are closely networked but operate at different levels. 

At local level, these are the works councils, whose members have just been newly elected in many places. At a broader level, all colleagues employed under collective agreements are represented by the Chamber of Labour. This compulsory membership has a long tradition in Austria and is repeatedly questioned, particularly by employers. The role of trade unions is also a recurring topic of discussion. This article takes a closer look at what lies behind these three representative bodies. 

Pillar 1: Works councils – at company level

• represent your interests in the company vis-à-vis management/senior management,
• support and advise you in case of uncertainties regarding your employment contract or a wide range of other questions arising from the working relationship,
• conclude works agreements,
• prepare demands for collective agreement adjustments in line with the needs of the workforce and forward these to the relevant industry representatives in the trade union,
• monitor compliance with labour law and
• mobilise for industrial action such as works meetings, demonstrations or strikes.

General information on this can be found at: https://www.betriebsraete.at

The concerns of local works council groups have always been to create fair working conditions and to negotiate specific regulations through active participation in, for example, works agreements. Find out about the specific activities of your works council on your institution's website.

Pillar 2: The Chamber of Labour

• represents your interests vis-à-vis the state and politicians and provides impetus for public debate – such as the re-democratisation of 2025,
• supports you with labour law issues,
• advises you on labour law and consumer protection,
• analyses and researches key data for wage and salary negotiations.

General information on this can be found at: https://www.arbeiterkammer.at. 

The establishment of the Chamber of Labour was a key milestone in the institutional consolidation of social partnership. After decades of efforts by the trade union movement, the Act on the Establishment of Chambers for Workers and Employees was passed in February 1920. The Chambers of Labour are intended to be equal partners to the Chambers of Commerce. 

In over 100 years of existence, the Chamber of Labour has established a central role in providing independent legal advice in the field of labour law, but increasingly also in consumer protection. If you have individual labour law problems, you can arrange for on-site consultations – important when pre-registering: indicate that you work at a university, because then care will be taken when assigning the consultation partner to ensure that the advisor has experience in this area.

The Chamber of Labour (AK) represents the interests of almost 4 million working people in Austria. Its focus is on workers' rights. The AK has campaigned to ensure that workers are heard, paid fairly and have legal protection. 

Each federal state has an AK plenary assembly, which is elected by its members every five years. The Vienna plenary assembly has 180 chamber councillors who come from many different industries and represent the interests of people in these sectors.

Since university employees have only been employees falling within the AK's sphere of influence since the spin-off, there have been very few representatives from our sector for a very long time. Since this year, there are finally two (!) representatives from the university sector who bring concrete working conditions at universities to the plenary assembly and the various specialist committees – an absolutely important task. 

A first focus in this term of office was democracy and co-determination: the motto of the consultations in May was ‘Democracy: it is not a given – and it is under pressure everywhere!’ Once again, there were calls for Austrian universal suffrage to be modelled on the AK's electoral regulations. Since the founding and implementation of the first AK election in 1921, all AK members have been able to vote, regardless of their citizenship. This is still the case today.

At the last plenary meeting in November, the focus was on ‘Counting women in’. Käthe Leichter founded the Women's Department of the AK Vienna 100 years ago. What Käthe Leichter began as a pioneer in 1925 as the first head of the Women's Department is now an indispensable part of the fight for justice. Women still earn significantly less than men today – this is also shown by analyses of income reports in our field. Käthe Leichter's demands are still relevant today, and there are currently very intense discussions about the implementation of the NEW wage transparency law – and these discussions will also benefit us at universities.

Pillar 3: Trade unions – sectoral level

• represent your interests in your industry,
• advise you on legal issues and support you in court
• negotiate collective agreements in consultation with and based on proposals from industry/professional associations – in our case, Federal Executive Committees 13 (scientific and artistic staff) and 16 (general administrative staff)
• organise industrial action such as works meetings, demonstrations or strikes.

General information on this can be found at: Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund | ÖGB; Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienst, GÖD

With the outsourcing of universities, the accompanying University Act (UG 2002) laid the foundation for a collective agreement to be concluded between the relevant trade union – the Public Service Union (GÖD) – and the umbrella organisation of universities on key labour law issues. 

This collective agreement has been in place since 2009, and there are two professional associations within the GÖD – Federal Executive Committee 13 for the work of scientists and artists at Austrian universities and Federal Executive Committee 16 for general university staff – which advise the GÖD's chief negotiators on the further development of the collective agreement.

During these consultations, these professional associations seek dialogue with local works councils – this was again the case this year in the run-up to the valorisation negotiations. A separate article in this newsletter will discuss this year's results in more detail. 

Trade unions are, in their basic structure, campaigning organisations – they strengthen their representatives at the negotiating table through a wide variety of measures. They can fight if they have enough members. Among university staff, union membership is in the single digits. Looking at the agreements reached in recent years, one might rightly ask why it makes sense to support this form of representation. At the same time, however, the negotiating partners repeatedly point to the low level of union membership – a vicious circle that we would very much like to break.

If you would like to discuss the work of the Chamber of Labour in more detail or have suggestions and ideas for breaking the vicious circle of trade union work described above, we would be delighted to receive your feedback and are happy to engage in dialogue.