KV-Runde Ordensspitäler Upper Austria: What happens next?
vida presents the results of the employee survey and informs about further timetable in the collective agreement negotiations.
Press conference
Five rounds of collective bargaining without a breakthrough: Order hospitals of Upper Austria before decisive round of negotiations
Since the handover of the demands on September 16, 2025, the trade union vida has been negotiating a new collective agreement for around 10,000 non-medical employees with the employers of the Upper Austrian Order Hospitals. The official start of the collective bargaining negotiations was on 26 November 2025. Since then, there have been five rounds of negotiations and an additional working group – without any substantial rapprochement.
The next date on February 24, 2026 is now considered a fork in the road.
Pressure from the houses: 6,843 declarations of intent and first strike
In recent months, the employees have made it clear that they stand behind their demands. On December 3, 2025, several hundred colleagues in Linz, Wels and Ried handed over a total of 6,843 letters of intent. A real inflation compensation and a noticeable reduction in working hours were demanded. At the same time, a 40-day ultimatum was set.
After there was still no decisive movement, a first strike followed on January 22, 2026 in all eight religious hospitals in Upper Austria.
The central message of the employees: The work is getting denser, the pressure is higher – there is no relief.
Working time in the center: Concessions without an answer
Originally, the employee side demanded a gradual reduction to 35 hours per week. In the fifth round of negotiations, this demand was adjusted to a gradual reduction to 37 hours by 2028 – a clear concession.
"We have five rounds and an additional working group behind us. We bring solutions, models and compromise proposals. But in terms of working hours, we have seen too little movement so far."vida KV-Verhandlerin
The reaction of the employers has so far remained minimal:
- Conversion of a special leave day into a regular holiday day
- Legal possibility to consume saved time credits
A structural reduction in working hours has still not been agreed.
80 percent in favor of further industrial action
Until today, 8 a.m., the employees voted on the further course of action. Despite massive influence from individual managements, the result was clear:
80 percent reject the previous offer and – if necessary – are in favor of a new strike.
"A solution is needed on February 24. We remain convinced that an agreement is possible at the negotiating table. If this does not happen, the strike decision for March 3 has already been made with the clear vote of the employees."vida KV-Verhandlerin
Order Hospitals Upper Austria: Systemically relevant for care and the economy
The importance of the religious hospitals for Upper Austria is enormous:
- 52 percent of inpatients are cared for there
- 51 percent of outpatient visits take place in religious hospitals
- 46 percent of the beds financed by the state health fund are located there
- Gross value added: around 1.76 billion euros
- Every 43rd euro of Upper Austria's value added comes from this area
- Around 184,230 euros of added value are generated annually per full-time equivalent
"What is being negotiated here affects not only 10,000 employees, but potentially everyone in the country. Working conditions are not an internal question, but a question of security of supply."vida-Landesvorsitzender Oberösterreich
Orientation to the public service – with clear conditions
Traditionally, the KV of the Order Hospitals is oriented towards the completion of the public service. This provides for a 3-year agreement with 3.3 percent from July 2026 and 1 percent in each of the following years.
"We have already held out the prospect that we would support this end of the crisis - provided that there is a noticeable, binding relief in working hours."
Wage settlement, yes – but not without structural relief.
Open letter to politicians: Responsibility for care means responsibility for staff
Qualified nurses such as Isabel Burgstaller-Schoberleitner and Daniela Klostermann make it clear in an open letter to Provincial Councillor Christine Haberlander and Governor Thomas Stelzer:
Identification with the profession is high. So is the pride in professionalism. But under the current conditions, the work is no longer affordable for many in the long term.
"We are not a plaything between employers and politicians. Responsibility for care also needs responsibility for the people who provide it."
Broad co-determination – more democratic than ever before
This year's collective bargaining negotiations are characterized by a particularly broad involvement of the grassroots:
- Team delegates in all houses
- Information channels directly to the teams
- democratic votes on further steps
6,843 declarations of intent, the high level of strike participation and more than 10,000 signatures for the petition "Safe health care in Upper Austria needs relief" show: The demand for a reduction in working hours and relief is not only supported by the workforce, but also by civil society.
24 February: Decision on negotiated solution or escalation
On February 24, 2026, a decision will be made as to whether there will be a contractually secured reduction in working hours. The employee side has demonstrated its willingness to compromise several times.
Now the ball is in the employers' court. Strikes remain the last resort. But without real movement in working hours, the staff shortage will not be reduced, the burden will not be reduced and the supply will not be more stable.
Relief is not a luxury demand. It is a prerequisite for Upper Austria to be able to continue to build on safe health care in the future.
OeGB-Roland_de_Roo?qlt=85&ts=1764853409985&dpr=off "Wir Sorgen Gemeinsam Protestaktion Ordensspitäler")