As negotiations over the weekend failed, the all-out railway strike in Austria is taking place today as announced. On Monday, 28 November, all rail traffic in Austria is at a standstill between 00:00 and 24:00. This also includes rail freight traffic.

“The vida union has announced a 24-hour warning strike for all of Austria on Monday, November 28, 2022”, the freight subsidiary of ÖBB RailCargoGroup (RCG) announced on Sunday, when it had become clear that the negotiations had not resulted in a deal. The trade union Vida and the Chamber of Commerce had one last attempt to ward off the strike this weekend, but without result.

The impact

“The entire RCG team in Austria is doing everything possible to minimise the impact of the strike on your transports, in particular through intensive coordination with our international partners and customers. We’ll keep you informed about the latest developments”, it said.

The impact if a complete standstill of trains on freight traffic is usually large, as the backlog will affect the train paths of the days to come. This will likely result in delays and cancellations for several days.

Negotiations standstill

Vida is asking for a new collective agreement for railway workers. On Monday 21 November, the negotiations already came to a standstill. The Chamber of Commerce announced that the negotiating table would be left for the time being, which led to the strike warning of the Vida trade union. As there is still no deal, more strikes are not unthinkable.