Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienst

The Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienst (GÖD) is the Austrian trade union for public-sector employees and, with 267,804 members as of 2026, the second-largest union within the Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB) after the GPA. It represents staff of the federal government, the federal states (Länder) and outsourced public bodies, and describes itself as a major pillar of Austria's social partnership. Its headquarters are in Vienna, and its official website is goed.at. The GÖD is hierarchically organised into works committees (Betriebsausschüsse), state representations (Landesvertretungen), state boards (Landesvorstände), federal representations (Bundesvertretungen), a board (Vorstand) and a presidium (Präsidium). There are 25 federal representations covering the various professional groups of the public service, plus cross-cutting bodies such as the ARGE der Allgemeinen Verwaltung, the ARGE der Landesbediensteten, the ARGE der Lehrer and the Exekutivgewerkschaft (police and prison guard unions). The union is formally non-partisan but explicitly political, and since its foundation it has been dominated by the Fraktion Christlicher Gewerkschafter (FCG). Its stated goals include fair pay, performance equity, modern human-resources management, the common good and the strengthening of democracy. The GÖD positions itself as a defender of a strong democratic state with a strong public service, and it supports the European Union as a peace project and a European social model with high social standards. It negotiates pay and working conditions for public employees and provides members with services such as the GÖD-Vorteilswelt benefits programme, GÖD hotels, a voucher portal and the online radio station RADIO GÖD. Eckehard Quin has chaired the GÖD since September 2023, succeeding Norbert Schnedl. Under Quin the union has emphasised recruitment and retention in a context of budget constraints, staff shortages and rising work pressure. In 2024 the government initially refused to negotiate a 2025 pay increase with the union, but after a staff assembly an agreement covering two years was reached shortly before a demonstration that was then cancelled at short notice. In September 2025 the government asked to reopen the 2026 pay agreement because of the budgetary situation, and on 7 October 2025 an amended agreement was announced. On 1 January 2026 the GÖD reported a record membership of 267,804.

The roots of the GÖD reach back to the guild brotherhoods and journeymen's associations of the 15th century, but the decisive step came with the Austrian coalition law of 7 April 1870, which allowed workers to combine to press for higher wages or better working conditions. In 1893 many small associations successfully created a umbrella organisation, carried by a strong sense of solidarity among members; its reach extended across the monarchy with more than 50 million inhabitants, shrinking to the Republic of Austria after the collapse of 1918. A further setback came in 1934, when the Free Trade Unions were dissolved and the Christian Trade Unions were forced to dissolve themselves. From 1939 to 1945 every trade union was banned, and trade unionists were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured or executed. After the liberation of Vienna in April 1945, former officials came together to build a modern Austrian trade union movement. On 15 April 1945 the Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB) was officially founded under the chairmanship of Johann Böhm, and the 'Gewerkschaft der öffentlich Angestellten' — the predecessor of the GÖD — was founded as one of its component organisations. Its principles were formulated on 8 May 1945, the first members were admitted on 1 June 1945, and the first board meeting took place on 16 July 1945. The founding became valid through the approval of the Russian military commandant on 30 April 1945, which allowed the Austrian delegation consisting of Böhm, Fiala, Weiberger, Krisch and Smeykal to meet the Russian commander General Alexei Blagodatow. The first chairman, Franz Rubant, recalled in 1946 the persecution suffered by colleagues. The ÖGB's statutes committed it to upholding constitutional rule of law, fighting fascism, defending human rights and contributing to a social Europe; the unity of the union was a deliberate break with the past. In 1946 the union demanded co-determination rights within a staff representation (Personalvertretung), a goal achieved with legal protection twenty years later. Between 1952 and 1979 the organisation was called Gewerkschaft der öffentlichen Bediensteten, and on 27 April 1979 it took the name Gewerkschaft öffentlicher Dienst. The GÖD has been dominated since its foundation by the Fraktion Christlicher Gewerksafter (FCG), reflecting the conservative tradition of Austrian public servants, who were never involved on a large scale in the workers' movement. Its chairmen have been Franz Rubant (SPÖ, 1945–1948), Fritz Koubek (SPÖ, 1948–1968), Alfred Gasperschitz (ÖVP, 1968–1977), Rudolf Sommer (ÖVP, 1977–1989), Siegfried Dohr (ÖVP, 1989–1997), Fritz Neugebauer (ÖVP, 1997–2016), Norbert Schnedl (2016–2023) and, since 2023, Eckehard Quin. After Norbert Schnedl stepped down after nearly seven years in office, Eckehard Quin, formerly head of the teachers' union, was elected chairman at the Bundestag on 12 September 2023 with 91 percent of the vote. He argued that good working conditions were especially important in the public service because higher qualification requirements make recruitment harder than in the private sector, and warned that too many colleagues leave the public service after ten to fifteen years if conditions are not right. In 2024 the government initially refused to negotiate a pay increase for 2025 with the union. After a staff assembly, an agreement covering two years was reached minutes before a demonstration that was then cancelled at very short notice. In September 2025 the government asked to reopen the 2026 pay agreement because of the budgetary situation, and on 7 October 2025 an amended agreement was announced. On 1 January 2026 the GÖD reached a membership record of 267,804, making it the second-strongest union in the ÖGB after the GPA.

• 2026

  1 January: record membership of 267,804

• 2025

  September: government asks to reopen 2026 pay deal; 7 October: amended agreement announced

• 2024

  Government initially refuses 2025 pay talks; two-year agreement reached after staff assembly

• 2023

  12 September: Eckehard Quin elected chairman with 91 percent

• 2016

  Norbert Schnedl becomes chairman

• 1979

  27 April: renamed Gewerkschaft öffentlicher Dienst

• 1952

  Renamed Gewerkschaft der öffentlichen Bediensteten (until 1979)

• 1946

  Union demands co-determination within a staff representation

• 1945

  15 April: ÖGB founded under Johann Böhm; Gewerkschaft der öffentlich Angestellten founded as predecessor of GÖD

• 1945

  8 May: principles formulated; 1 June: first members admitted; 16 July: first board meeting

• 1939

  All trade unions banned until 1945; trade unionists persecuted

• 1934

  Free Trade Unions dissolved and Christian Trade Unions forced to dissolve

• 1918

  Collapse of the monarchy shrinks the union's reach to the Republic of Austria

• 1893

  Small associations form an umbrella organisation across the monarchy

• 1870

  Austrian coalition law of 7 April allows workers to combine for better wages and conditions

Austria's second-largest ÖGB union and the leading representative of public-sector employees, combining social-partnership negotiation with member services and political advocacy for a strong public service.

• Trade union membership and representation

• Collective bargaining for public-sector pay and working conditions

• GÖD-Vorteilswelt member benefits

• GÖD hotels

• GÖD voucher portal

• RADIO GÖD online radio

• GÖD magazine

• Member area with downloadable forms

1. 1Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienst, GÖDgoed.at
2. 2GÖD im ÖGB: Unser Leitbildgoed.at
3. 3Positionen und Zielegoed.at
4. 4Organisation und Strukturgoed.at
5. 5Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienstwikidata.org
6. 6Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienstde.wikipedia.org