From Engel in Schwertberg to Pöttinger in Grieskirchen to Wacker Neuson in Hörsching: There was a strike in many companies this week. At Voestalpine, preparations for the industrial action are still being prepared. Next week there will be a standstill at all locations.
Voestalpine factory entrances in Linz were blocked, which caused long traffic jams in early morning traffic: The pictures from Wednesday, November 8th had an impact. This week, however, the topic of strikes at the steel company seems to have been ignored. “There are only a small number of strikes this week,” confirms Hans Karl Schaller, chairman of the group works council. The picture could look completely different next week. At the Voestalpine works council conference on Wednesday evening, the course was set for the next major measures, although they will return to the negotiating table on Monday. “We are going through with the strikes – we are standing there at all locations,” Schaller is determined. “They wanted to shut down the systems immediately.” He speaks of a mood “that is totally heated” and of a level of support that he has “never experienced before have experienced. He had to hold his colleagues back. “They wanted to shut down the systems immediately,” says Schaller. “A strike is important, but highly sensitive. This has to be done calmly. You don’t want to ruin anything.” A blast furnace, for example, isn’t a coffee machine that you turn on and off. This continues even during strikes. The offer from the employers is a mockery for the employees, he says. “Rents, food and household energy became more expensive – you don’t get any benefit from a one-off payment,” says Schaller.
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