Crisis Unfolds at Vienna's Sigmund Freud University Amid Job Cuts and Labor Disputes

The Sigmund Freud University (SFU) in Vienna, Austria's largest private university, is facing a significant internal crisis, marked by widespread job losses and intense conflicts between staff and management. The situation has escalated to the point where employees have initiated a strike at the Vienna campus, with colleagues from other locations, including Berlin, expressing solidarity through virtual support. The unrest centers on concerns over staff reductions, increasing workloads, and alleged suppression of labor representation.

Established in 2005 and with additional campuses in Linz, Berlin, Paris, Ljubljana, and Milan, SFU has grown rapidly over two decades. However, recent developments have cast a shadow over its operations. Employees claim that the university's administration has moved to terminate a significant portion of its academic workforce, particularly within the faculties of psychotherapy science and law, where approximately one-third of research staff have either lost their positions or are currently facing dismissal procedures.

At the heart of the discord is the relationship between the university leadership and the institution's works council, which represents employee interests. The management has initiated legal proceedings to dismiss the former chair of the works council, citing repeated workplace misconduct as the reason. The former chair, however, asserts that these actions are an attempt to weaken collective bargaining efforts and undermine employee advocacy, especially as the council has historically challenged issues such as poor working conditions, lack of transparent pay structures, and unequal compensation.

Unlike public universities, private institutions in Austria, including SFU, are not bound by collective labor agreements. As a result, salary adjustments to match inflation and other improvements typically require separate internal negotiations, in which the works council plays a crucial role. Staff members report that, despite the university recording substantial profits in the past, only in the most recent years have inflation-related pay increases been granted. Furthermore, the lack of a standardized salary framework has contributed to widespread dissatisfaction among the workforce.

Negotiations between the employee representatives and university management have reportedly stalled since May, with the administration refusing to sign a finalized internal agreement. The proposed agreement included provisions for inflation-linked pay raises, continued negotiations on flexible working hours, and compensation for additional work performed by academic staff. According to the current chair of the works council, the university's refusal to engage is linked to ongoing disputes with the former council leadership and has included measures such as barring council members from university premises, actions deemed legally unenforceable by employee representatives.

In a further development, the university recently terminated the head of its Equal Opportunities Committee without providing justification, a move perceived by staff as indicative of a broader pattern of labor rights infringements. The cumulative effect of these measures has generated a climate of uncertainty and fear among employees, with many concerned about further job cuts and reprisals against those involved in labor organizing.

Employees have outlined a set of demands in connection with their industrial action, seeking pay increases to offset inflation, an end to what they describe as retaliatory management practices, and assurances that adequate staffing levels will be maintained to ensure academic quality. The ongoing dispute at SFU highlights broader challenges faced by staff at private universities in Austria, particularly around job security, compensation transparency, and the right to independent employee representation.