Bus driver warning strike:

“Not even toilets are available!”

In Vorarlberg, around 80 bus drivers went on strike at three locations on Thursday morning.(Bild: Gewerkschaft)

After the 4th round of collective bargaining for the 12,000 employees of private bus companies - 800 of them in Vorarlberg - failed to make any progress, warning strikes were held across Austria on Thursday morning - including in the province. 

Around 80 bus drivers left their work equipment in the garages at the ÖBB-Postbus sites in Wolfurt, Feldkirch and Bludenz between four and six o'clock on Thursday morning. "The willingness to strike was enormous," reports vida regional chairman Reinhard Stemmer. "That shows how much suffering there is." In this context, the union boss refers to a recent survey by the University of Vienna, according to which stress, barely sufficient recovery periods and physical strain make the work of bus drivers significantly more difficult. "With the strikes, we are therefore sending a clear warning signal to the employers to return to the negotiating table quickly with a noticeably improved offer. We are ready to negotiate at any time," emphasizes Stemmer.

Better working conditions to combat staff shortages
The industry is known to be struggling with a massive staff shortage. This cannot be tackled with wage increases alone; substantial improvements to working conditions are also needed, including fair bonuses for night shifts and more predictable working hours to guarantee sufficient recovery periods. "Bus drivers have shifts of up to 15 hours, they drive at night and also at weekends and on public holidays. They don't even get a Sunday allowance. They have split shifts with hours of unpaid breaks in between. They often don't even have access to toilets while on duty," says Stemmer, underlining the urgency of the demands. 

If the employers continue to show no substantial concessions, we will not rule out extending the strike action!

Reinhard Stemmer, vida-Landesvorsitzender

Extension of strikes possible
However, the employers have not yet been impressed by these arguments, and even at the latest round of negotiations they only offered marginal proposals for improvement. In this context, the union representatives speak of a "deceptive package". For example, a reduction in shared shifts and breaks would still be linked to a loss of income. The employers have also made little progress on extending the night bonus. The warning strikes on Thursday could therefore have been just the beginning: "If the employers continue to show no substantial concessions, we are not ruling out an extension of the strike measures!" Stemmer puts the rod in the window of the employers' representatives, first and foremost the Vorarlberg transport association.