Railway Workers in Austria to go on Strike on November 28 over pay hike demands

Railway Workers in Austria to go on Strike on November 28 over pay hike demands

Railway workers in Austria would hold a one-day strike on Monday after talks in pay negotiations failed. Austrian media reported on Sunday that the fifth round of talks on pay for over 50,000 employees of about 65 railway operators, including the main national operator OeBB, had failed.

Hence, there will be no regional, long-distance, or night trains on Monday. Therefore, only buses and other public transport run by municipal authorities will run on Monday. Labor union Vida has demanded an extra 400 euros (USD 416) per month for railway employees, this is equivalent to an average increase of 12 percent.

Employers said it would amount to a 13.3 percent raise, and it is huge. OeBB said that employers offered an 8.44 percent hike and criticized the strike very strongly. Austria has witnessed an inflation surge this year in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.. The annual inflation rate touched 11 percent in October.