The salaries of employees in Austrian retail rose by 3.3 percent at the turn of the year.
For 2026, as part of a two-year agreement, the social partners agreed on an increase in salaries by 0.5 percent above the rolling inflation rate – the average of the last twelve monthly inflation rates – as long as this rate is below 2.4 percent, the Austrian professional association said Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB) on Tuesday. After that there is a sliding scale. If the value exceeds 3 percent, it will be renegotiated.
The apprentice’s income in the first year of training will be increased to 1,000 euros in 2025. This means that the value is 13.64 percent above the current income for the first year of training. Starting next year, they will receive 1,170 euros in the second year of training, 1,480 euros in the third year of training and 1,540 euros in the fourth year of training.
“The agreement reached today is no reason for us to celebrate excessively,” said Veronika Arnost, chief negotiator of the GPA union. “Due to the very difficult economic conditions, we have accepted our responsibility and agreed to a compromise that offers the prospect of sustainable salary development. We will also use the time to work on a sensible reform of the collective agreement, which must bring benefits for the employees.”
According to current information from the ÖGB, there are around 430,000 employees and 15,000 apprentices in Austria.