Summary
Highlights
Social partnership in Austria is a voluntary collaboration between key employer and employee organizations, and the federal government. This cooperation is not legally mandated, making its effectiveness and influence even more remarkable.
Social partners are divided into two main groups: employee interest groups and employer interest groups. For employees, these include the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and the Federal Chamber of Labour (Bundesarbeiterkammer). For employers, they are the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture (Landwirtschaftskammer Österreich).
Austria excels in collective bargaining agreements due to the mandatory membership in certain associations, which are legally enshrined. This means employers cannot easily opt out of these agreements, as they generally apply to every industry. Similarly, collective agreements apply to all employees, regardless of union membership, ensuring a high level of protection that cannot be circumvented.
Collective bargaining agreements are concluded by the respective interest groups within each industry. The major interest groups can be further broken down into specialized associations and chambers. An example from the hotel and catering industry shows the Fachverband Hotellerie und Gastronomie on the employer side and the Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB) and other union associations on the employee side.
Information regarding who concludes collective agreements, their scope, and where employees or employers can seek advice, can always be found on the websites of the respective social partners.