Austria - Agreement in social economy sector - January 31, 2026

On 27 January 2026, after a demanding fifth round of negotiations that lasted over 17 hours, unions GPA and vida and the Social Economy Austria (SWÖ) reached a collective agreement covering around 130,000 employees in the private care, health and social sector. The agreement includes wage increases of about 2.6% from April 2026 and further scheduled increases from January 2027, with an embedded inflation protection corridor to share cost pressures. The unions had previously called off nationwide strikes planned for late January after intensifying pressure with warning strikes in December 2025. Beyond pay, the agreement includes expanded leave rights for parents of children with disabilities.

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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.