Austrian Chemical Workers Accept 1.8% Wage Increase as Strikes Fail to Close Inflation Gap
13.06.2026 - 00:12:36 | boerse-global.de
After six rounds of talks that were repeatedly interrupted by walkouts, unions and employers in Austria's chemical industry have reached a deal giving roughly 50,000 workers a pay rise of 1.8 percent — capped at 100 euros per month. The increase is roughly half the current rolling inflation rate of 3.35 percent, a gap that union leaders described as a tough compromise.
The agreement also includes a one-off payment of 300 euros, which employees can take as cash or convert into an extra day off. Minimum wages and apprentice pay will rise by 2 percent, lifting the previous minimum of 2,477 euros. The unions PRO-GE and GPA accused employers of clinging to a zero-wage round for the first six negotiating sessions before finally moving.
The breakthrough followed intense industrial action. On June 10, staff at the industrial-gas specialist Air Liquide in Schwechat walked out, though the company ensured essential supplies to hospitals remained uninterrupted. The next day, strikes spread to the Chemiepark Linz, hitting sites operated by Aurorium, Nufarm, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Borouge International. Workers had originally demanded 3 percent; employers had long offered only 0.5 percent plus one-off payments or a delayed increase starting in October.
The chemical sector’s deal lags significantly behind other key Austrian industries. Workers in construction and wood processing are securing an average 3.5 percent more this year. Data from the spring wage round shows that about 84 percent of all settlements so far have fallen below the rate of rolling inflation.
The backdrop is a wider debate about Austria’s labor-cost competitiveness. The finance ministry has hinted at a two-billion-euro cut in non-wage labor costs to ease future negotiations. The economic ministry counters that Austria’s unit labor costs rose six percentage points faster than the eurozone average between 2022 and 2025. While the metal industry has already locked in multi-year deals through 2027, other sectors such as tourism have yet to reach agreements.
