The salaries of the 430,000 retail employees will increase by 3.3% as of January 1, 2025. In 2026, the social partners agreed, as part of a two-year agreement, to increase salaries by 0.5% above the rolling inflation rate, provided this rate is below 2.4%. After that there is a sliding scale. With annual inflation of 2.9%, at least the inflation rate is compensated. Existing overpayments above the collectively agreed salaries remain fully valid.
Specifically, this means for the year 2026:
Up to rolling inflation of 2.3%, salaries rise 0.5% above the inflation rate.
With rolling inflation of 2.4% and 2.5%, salaries rise 0.4% above the inflation rate.
With rolling inflation of 2.6%, salaries rise 0.3% above the inflation rate.
With rolling inflation of 2.7%, salaries rise 0.2% above the inflation rate.
With rolling inflation of 2.8%, salaries rise 0.1% above the inflation rate.
With rolling inflation of 2.9%, inflation is compensated.
If the value exceeds 3.0%, it must be renegotiated.
The apprentice income for the approximately 15,000 apprentices will be increased to 1,000 euros in the first year of training in 2025, which means an increase of 13.64%. In the second, third and fourth years of training there is an increase to 1,170 euros, 1,480 euros and 1,540 euros. Next year, the social partners want to use the time to hold reform talks about the collective agreement.
“The deal we made today is no reason for us to celebrate excessively. However, due to the very difficult economic conditions, we have accepted our responsibility and agreed to a compromise that offers the prospect of sustainable salary development. We will also use the time to work on a sensible reform of the collective agreement, which must bring benefits for the employees,” said the chief negotiator of the GPA union, Veronika Arnost.
“We now need security and confidence, especially for the employees, instead of the industry complaining about illness. The two-year financial statements should make a contribution to this. I would like to thank everyone who held works meetings in the companies and took part in them and supported us in public announcements,” says Martin Müllauer, chairman of the trade sector in the GPA union.