How does trust shape the world of work across Europe? Our last country spotlight: 🇦🇹  Austria

September 1, 2025

Austria’s industrial relations are deeply rooted in its corporatist history, with a highly coordinated system of sectoral bargaining that achieves almost universal collective bargaining coverage through mandatory employer chamber membership.

The study reveals that trust—institutional, relational, and personal—plays a central role in making Austrian social dialogue effective.

Evidence shows that this trust not only enhances cooperation and stability but also delivers tangible outcomes like the Kurzarbeit crisis-response scheme during COVID-19, and the study underscores that trust remains a key foundation of this enduring model.

However, political pressures to bypass bipartite mechanisms, declining local-level engagement, and challenges like digitalisation and restructuring raise important questions. How Austria can protect and renew trust across all levels of industrial relations?

📄 Want to learn more? Read the full report, authored by Kristína Gotthardová & Marta Kahancová from Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI): https://celsi.sk/media/datasource/TRUE_Europe_Austria.pdf

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