Negotiations for a new railway collective agreement officially entered the second round at 15:30 today. The talks involve 98 railway companies and impact 55,000 employees. Lead negotiator Thomas Scheiber and sectoral chairman Gerhard Tauchner are meeting to discuss terms.
The vida union is demanding inflation compensation and a real wage increase for workers. This follows a two-year crisis deal in the metal industry last year, which resulted in no new negotiations for that sector this autumn. The union seeks to secure better pay for the workforce.
The talks come as passenger transport saw 292 million passengers in 2025, a 25.4 percent rise since 2013. Train kilometers reached 118.3 million, while the ÖBB Group employment level grew by 15.2 percent to 46,838 full-time equivalents during the same period.