Strike at AUA ended
The on-board staff of Austrian Airlines ended their 36-hour strike at midday on Good Friday.
According to the airline, operations are being ramped up again “gradually” after hundreds of outages yesterday and today.
There will be delays; the first flights will take off from Vienna at around 1 p.m. However, the dispute continues to smolder and the workforce is planning another works meeting for April 4th, which could lead to new absences.
The AUA canceled a total of 400 flights on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Vienna Airport was particularly affected, but also some federal state airports. According to the AUA, 50,000 passengers did not reach their destination as planned.
Another strike possible
The company has so far shown no desire to meet the union’s demand for a better offer in the current wage negotiations. On the contrary: AUA boss Annette Mann suggested that the Lufthansa Group, to which AUA belongs, could serve Vienna with cheaper airlines in the future if the workforce did not scale back their demands.
Instead of holding further talks, the German side began to make threats, vida boss Roman Hebenstreit criticized the APA on Friday. “That irritated us to a certain extent,” continued Hebenstreit. The works council will now inform the workforce about this, advise them on how to proceed and “also discuss their own position”. He does not rule out another strike: “All steps” are “possible”.
Everyone shows willingness to talk
At the same time, Hebenstreit emphasized the willingness to talk to the AUA management. “Our arms remain outstretched,” said the vida boss. “It is constantly communicated that appointments are possible, you just have to say when”. Hebenstreit once again called for “fair and equal treatment of Austrian employees in the Lufthansa Group” to be accepted.
On Friday morning, the AUA management said: “We are still ready to talk at any time and would like to find an economically viable solution for the benefit of our employees as soon as possible.”
Discussions were ongoing at different levels, and there has been no new negotiation date to date. It had previously been said several times that the wage increases demanded by the union were not affordable.
New works meeting possible on Thursday
The KV dispute has been dragging on for weeks; 17 rounds of negotiations have taken place so far without any results. Hundreds of flights have been canceled since negotiations began. The workforce is planning another works meeting on Thursday at 9 a.m., which could lead to new absences.
