Austria Sets Home-Work Tariff for Plastic Food Pumps in Gmünd

The Bundeseinigungsamt (Federal Conciliation Office) at the Federal Ministry for Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection has issued a new home-work tariff (Heimarbeitstarif) for the manufacture and processing of plastic goods by home workers in the Gmünd district of Lower Austria. The regulation, adopted by decision of 19 August 2026, was published on 20 August 2026 in Part II of the Österreichisches Bundesgesetzblatt as number 254, under official reference BGBLA_2026_II_254.

The tariff is based on § 34(1) of the Heimarbeitsgesetz 1960 (BGBl. No. 105/1961), which empowers the Conciliation Office to issue home-work tariffs on application by a collective-bargaining-capable body of workers. It was enacted following a senate hearing and applies to all principals who employ home workers for the covered activities.

Scope of the tariff

The tariff applies geographically to the political district of Gmünd in the federal state of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich). Its personal scope covers all principals who employ home workers for the listed tasks.

Fachlich, the tariff covers the following activities:

• Manufacture of sleeves and similar plastic articles for holding lipsticks, fat sticks and similar products.
• Manufacture of pumps, dispensers and portioners for food and luxury foods made of plastic, such as mustard or ketchup pumps.

Pay and surcharges

Under § 2, the piecework wages of home workers are to be calculated on the basis of an hourly wage of €9.00. On top of the resulting piecework wages, workers receive a separately itemised home-work surcharge of 10% under § 3.

Additional entitlements are set out in § 4:

• Holiday bonus (Urlaubszuschuss) of four weekly wages.
• Christmas remuneration (Weihnachtsremuneration) of four weekly wages.
• Each of these amounts to 8% of the annual wage base.

Entry into force

Under § 5, the tariff takes effect retroactively from 1 June 2026. The regulation is signed by Lukowitsch on behalf of the issuing authority.

The new tariff gives home workers in the Gmünd plastics sector a clear, enforceable minimum pay floor, including a dedicated surcharge for the specific burdens of home work. For the local industry, which produces food pumps and portioners for brands such as mustard and ketchup, the measure provides legal certainty on labour costs while guaranteeing a statutory minimum for the workers involved.

Source: Österreichisches Bundesgesetzblatt, Part II, No. 254, 20 August 2026 (official reference: BGBLA_2026_II_254).