1961: Social Partnership (The Raab-Olah Agreement)

The Austrian social partnership (an institutionalised cooperation between the representations of employers and labour) is unique because it tries to shift the dispute over economic conflicts from the street to the negotiating table. The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO), the Chamber of Labour (AK), the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB) and the Regional Chambers of Agriculture (LK) found common ground through wage-price agreements, which in 1957 led to the establishment of the Joint Commission, which institutionalised the idea of the agreements.

The next step was the Raab-Olah Agreement of 1961. Both presidents (Federal Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Trade Unions) came to an agreement to hire temporary foreign workers from Yugoslavia during the first wave of the economic boom. That was the starting signal for the “guest workers”, people with diverse life stories and expectations for the future. At the same time, the structures of the social partnership solidified.