Hospital strikes in Upper Austria
Around 55 operations were cancelled on Tuesday due to industrial action by around 500 non-medial staff at all eight of the Ordensspitäler hospitals in Upper Austria.
It comes during collective bargaining negotiations as the Vida union fights for improved worker conditions.
A total of 117 surgery appointments had to be postponed during the previous strike on January 22nd. This time, according to the spokesperson for the Wels-Grieskirchen Clinic, a total of 55 surgeries across the religious hospitals in Upper Austria have to be rescheduled.
Affected patients have been informed. Acute care is guaranteed for patients, according to Kerstin Pindeus, press spokesperson for the Wels-Grieskirchen Clinic.
The second strike is aimed at putting pressure on political decision-makers as the state of Upper Austria is a major financial backer of the hospitals.
The union wants to see Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP) "take responsibility and pave the way for a solution".
Although employees recently accepted the public sector wage agreement (a 3.3 percent rise), there is still disagreement with employers on the issue of reducing working hours.
The next and seventh round of negotiations is scheduled for March 12th.
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IT workers go on strike
IT employees across Austria are striking on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a collective bargaining dispute regarding pay.
Works council representatives and the union called for industrial action to put pressure on employers. It is unclear which companies and services will be hit in the action, but it may have an impact across the country as around 90,000 IT workers are are affected by the collective agreement.
According to a statement issued by the GPA union, no agreement could be reached despite several rounds of negotiations.
Employers reportedly offered a 2.5 percent increase for minimum salaries and 2.0 percent for actual salaries (IST). The union had already lowered its demand to 3.5 percent.
"The employees' patience is exhausted," said Florian Koch, regional secretary at GPA Salzburg.
Six rounds of negotiations without any serious concessions are unacceptable. Our colleagues perform highly skilled work every day and rightly expect an appropriate salary increase.
"If you want to retain skilled workers, you must also be prepared to create fair conditions."
The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) gave the GPA the go-ahead to strike.
GPA chief negotiator Sandra Steiner explained that repeated attempts had been made to reach a solution at the negotiating table, but that this is only possible "if both sides are actually interested in doing so".
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for March 10th.
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