Majority of commercial employees dissatisfied with income

2023-12-06 12:57:00

Accordingly, the income satisfaction of retail employees is significantly lower than the average for all sectors, said AK Upper Austria President Andreas Stangl.

“I am assuming that the social partnership will work and that a deal will be reached on Thursday. But if not, I will support the union in a labor dispute,” said Stangl at a press conference on Wednesday. The collective bargaining negotiations in retail will enter their fifth round on Thursday. If there is no agreement again, the union wants to continue the warning strikes and protests on December 8th and 9th.

Recently there were warning strikes at over 300 retailers throughout Austria. The AK Upper Austria president was outraged by the fact that employees were put under pressure by some employers not to take part in the strikes. “I would recommend that companies not do that. Consumers are also responsible and this will send a wave of solidarity to employees and some may decide not to shop there anymore.”

Compared to other sectors, job satisfaction in retail is lower, which is mainly due to income, said Stefan Friesenbichler from the opinion research institute IFES. While only 6 percent of those surveyed in retail can live well on their income, in other sectors the figure is more than twice as high at 13 percent. For 56 percent of retail employees, their income is just enough; 10 percent, according to the survey, cannot make ends meet with their income at all. “It is therefore hardly surprising that more employees in retail want to change jobs than in any other industry,” says Friesenbichler.

“Last Christmas” for the 700th time

The workload in retail is similar to that in other industries. Time pressure, constant customer contact and pain due to standing work are viewed as particularly stressful by employees. During the Christmas season, the “continuous sound” of Christmas carols would be added. “When you’ve heard ‘Last Christmas’ for the 700th time, everyone can imagine how you feel,” said Stangl. The employees deserve to be treated with respect and paid properly.

4,000 employees are interviewed every year for the working climate index. For the current special evaluation, there were just over 720 retail employees in the sample in 2022 and the first two quarters of 2023.