This is a negotiated commitment very quickly. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker welcomed this Tuesday, September 23, an agreement that is quickly located in just a few hours among social partners to limit salary increases and end the spiral of inflation that affects the country.
On Monday, unions and employers agreed no longer indexing salary increases in inflation for two years. “As of November 1, 2025, the real income will increase by 1.41 %,” the interval on the metallurgical branch said. Then 1.9% in November 2026.
The two -year agreement also establishes that, during the period from November 2025 to June 2026, employees will benefit from two additional license or twice 500 euros in the form of premiums.
The manager of the Pro-EGE production unions, Reinhold Binder, spoke of a “crisis agreement” that certainly does not “cover the slippery inflation”, but who allows “to take a step towards the future together.”
Inflation twice the average of the euro zone
After a fall in spring, inflation recently resumed in Austria. It was 4.1% in August 2025, above the average of the euro zone (2%). From September 2024 to August 2025, the basis of collective bargaining was 2.8%.
In Austria, metallurgy agreements, which refer to 200,000 employees, generally serve as a model for salary negotiations in other industry sectors.
The budget deficit by 2025 must remain well above the Maastricht limit of 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP): it would be more than 4%, despite an austerity plan.
After two years of recession in 2023 and 2024, the forecasts stagnate around 0% by 2025. According to the Economic Chamber of Austria (WKö), orders inputs “fell into 13% in 2024 and additional 4% in the first half of 2025”, especially for geopolitical reasons. And the “strong increase in the cost of labor” as energy prices are exacerbated “pressure on international competitiveness compared to other European countries.”
Source: BFM TV
