vida accepts offer of talks from State Secretary Zehetner and calls for honest dialogue
After the faltering collective agreement negotiations in tourism, the trade union vida reacts with an open letter.
Tourism KV
Tourism chairwoman Eva Eberhart wants to accept the invitation of State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner to build bridges - but demands clear answers to real wage losses and fair working conditions.
"I am happy to accept your invitation to build bridges, but the prerequisite for this is that we honestly name the reality on the labour market and jointly develop solutions that benefit the employees as well as the industry."Vorsitzende des vida-Fachbereichs Tourismus
vida welcomes offer of talks after stalled collective bargaining negotiations
After the deadlocked collective agreement negotiations for employees in the hotel and catering industry, the trade union vida is reacting to the latest appeal by Tourism State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner to "build bridges" again. In an open letter, Eva Eberhart, Chairwoman of the vida Tourism Department, explains that she expressly accepts the invitation to dialogue.
At the same time, the union makes it clear that a constructive discussion can only succeed if the actual challenges facing the industry are openly addressed – in particular the threat of real wage losses for employees and working conditions in tourism.
Fair wages instead of real wage losses
vida points out that the employees make the economic success of Austrian tourism possible in the first place. This is precisely why it is unacceptable that people with low incomes should accept a collective agreement that further reduces their purchasing power.
The union therefore continues to demand a fair collective bargaining agreement that protects employees in the lower wage groups in particular from real wage losses.
Linking the Red-White-Red Card to fair working conditions
Another central topic of the open letter is labour policy. vida is in favour of linking the Red-White-Red Card to fair working conditions and appropriate remuneration in the future. This is the only way to prevent the shortage of skilled workers from being combated by wage pressure instead of better working conditions.
From the union's point of view, tourism not only needs more employees, but above all jobs that are attractive in the long term - with fair pay, predictable working hours and good framework conditions.
Dialogue must bring concrete improvements
The trade union vida sees the State Secretary's offer of talks as an opportunity to get the deadlocked conflict moving again. However, it is crucial that the dialogue does not stop at symbolism, but leads to concrete improvements for the employees and thus also for the future of Austria as a tourism location.
The wording of the open letter:
Dear State Secretary Zehetner,
You are right: the strength of social partnership proves itself in the crisis, not in the comfort zone. We are very happy to accept your invitation to open doors and build bridges. In order to build sustainable bridges, however, an honest, stable foundation is needed. We need to talk about the reality that the approximately 240,000 employees in the hotel and catering industry are currently experiencing.
The fact that the fronts have hardened is not due to irrational action by the union. Rather, employees feel that their wages are falling in real terms, adjusted for purchasing power. If the latest offer from the employers' side does not even cover inflation, we do not have to talk about "overtaxing the companies", but about the imminent impoverishment of people who form the backbone of our tourism. Motivated employees, whom you quite rightly name as the basis of every success, only exist if they can also make a living from their work.
Adapting the RWR Card to changing conditions
For us, building bridges also means talking about the failed labour market policy. In the collective bargaining talks, the positions were recently separated by only a few euro amounts. But at the same time, the current system of the Red-White-Red Card continues to send companies the signal that they can simply fall back on cheaper labour from third countries if no agreement is reached. In addition, companies still have the option of recruiting thousands of short-term employees from non-EU countries via seasonal quotas. This reduces the incentive to create attractive jobs and fair wages.
We therefore call on you to work with us to adapt the Red-White-Red Card to the changed framework conditions: Immigration must not be a tool for wage dumping, but must be strictly linked to compliance with fair, industry-standard standards. Seasonal quotas in the tourism industry must be completely abolished in view of the current unemployment figures.
The absurdity on the labour market: A look at the current figures
The recently published labor market data for June dramatically show how urgent a change of course is. We are seeing a massive increase in female unemployment of 5.9 percent. Here a circle closes and the absurdity of current politics becomes visible:
Of all things, nursing and tourism – traditionally female-dominated sectors – are desperately looking for staff. And what is politics doing? She watches as unemployment among women rises domestically, while at the same time enormous tax revenues are used to import workers for care and tourism from third countries. This is a ghost ride in terms of employment policy! It's enough! We must leverage the existing potential – especially that of women – through attractive framework conditions, a better work-life balance and fair pay, instead of looking for the solution exclusively in importing labour.
Dear State Secretary, let us take advantage of your open doors. Let us sit down at a table to talk not only about tourism, but about the overall situation of working people in this country. We are ready to build bridges – for healthy businesses, but above all for all employees who successfully support tourism.
Best regards,
Eva Eberhart
Chairwoman of the Tourism Department of the trade union vida
