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Frequently Asked Questions on GPA Union Membership

You pay a maximum of 1% of your gross income

 

We stand for fairness. Therefore, your membership fee depends on your income.

 

Usually, the monthly membership fee amounts to 1% of your gross income. But you can save even more! Your employer doesn’t yet consider you membership fee in payroll accounting? Then, you can deduct your membership fee from your wage tax!

 

Example: If you, for instance, pay a monthly membership fee of EUR 38.70 (the “maximum” fee), you get a tax return of about EUR 14.50. Therefore, your actual monthly membership fee decreases to about EUR 20.-.

 

In 2024, you pay a maximum monthly fee of EUR 40.80. (After tax deduction even only about EUR 24.50). The maximum fee is adjusted every year.

 

Certain groups like school students or retired employees pay even less. All details are outlined further below.

 

Fixed monthly fees:

 

  • Unemployed members
  • Secondary membership (primary membership with another trade union)
  • Unpaid leave
  • Early maternity protection
  • Military servants/civilian servants without prior membership
  • Childcare beneficiaries without prior membership
  • Marginally employed employees (salary below the marginal employment threshold)

 

pay EUR 3.-/month

 

  • Retired employees 

 

pay EUR 5.-/month

 

Fixed yearly fees:

 

  • School and university students EUR 12.-/year

 

Other membership fees:

 

Atypical employees (freelancers, crowd workers, trade licence holders without employees as well as free journalists with press card) pay 1% of their gross income and a minimum membership fee of EUR 10.-/month.

 

Retired journalists with press card EUR 8.-/month

 

Regular monthly payments are liable for contributions, such as:

 

  • Salary/wage/apprenticeship compensation
  • Dirty-work and danger bonuses, severity allowances, commissions and bonuses
  • Termination and vacation compensations
  • Reduced salary/wage upon part-time parental leave 
  • Reduced salary/wage upon partial pension

 

Not included in the membership fee:

 

  • Overtime (also lump sums)
  • Vacation and Christmas bonuses
  • Personal allowances
  • Redundancy payments
  • and similar payments

 

Non-contributory periods:

 

(are credited as membership periods after a paid membership period of at least 6 months)

 

  • Statutory maternity protection
  • Parental leave for the period stipulated by law or works agreement
  • Unpaid sick leave
  • Military or civilian service

 

This also applies to:

 

  • Development assistance
  • Educational leave
  • Full-time family hospice leave

Is GPA Union my responsible trade union? For which economic sectors is GPA Union responsible?

 

GPA Union negotiates about 170 different collective agreements. We are mostly responsible for white-collar workers.

 

We are your responsible trade union if you, for example, work in the commerce sector, in the social sector, in the care sector, at the social security, in the IT sector, in the metal industry, in the chemical industry, at a bank, at an insurance company, in childcare and child education and many other sectors.

 

You are not sure whether GPA Union is your responsible trade union? Our colleagues at our service hotline can help you out! Call us at +43 (0)5 0301!

 

Additionally, you can also find the economic sectors that we represent here (in German): www.gpa.at/kollektivvertrag

Yes, certainly! You can also join GPA Union if you currently are apprentice.

 

Apprentices can join GPA Union and benefit from special offers and advantages.

 

Furthermore, you can deduct your membership fee for GPA Union from your wage tax und save extra money.

Yes, certainly! You can also join GPA Union if you go to school or study at university. In this field, your union, for example, takes a stand for decent, paid internships and good learning conditions. You only pay EUR 12.- per year and benefit from many exclusive advantages!

No! As a matter of course, we protect your data!

 

You want your membership fee to be directly deducted from your salary? No problem, but then the human resources department/payroll office of your company gets to know about your membership. You don’t want that to happen? Then you can just pay by direct debit.

Whatever is most convenient for you:

 

You can terminate your membership at any time. Just send an informal email to service@gpa.at. You then no longer pay membership fees as from the following month.

 

If you want to you can also demand the erasure of the data after having terminated your membership. We then also delete your data from our system.

You can fully deduct the membership fee from your wage tax. You, therefore, pay less taxes.

 

If the membership fee is directly deducted from the salary/wage, the tax reduction is already considered at payroll accounting.

 

If you pay the membership fee by direct debit, then you receive a confirmation about all paid membership fees. You need this confirmation for the tax authority in case you submit a tax declaration.

You just write an informal email to service@gpa.at indicating what has changed.

 

This is important so that you pay a membership fee corresponding to your current income.

 

Therefore, please inform us:

 

  • If you change your job/your economic sector and if you are not sure whether GPA Union is still your responsible trade union.
  • If you retire.
  • If you lose your job.
  • If you are in statutory maternity protection.
  • If you are on parental leave for the period stipulated by law or works agreement.
  • If you are sick and don’t receive your salary/wage.
  • If you are on military or civilian service.
  • If you are on development assistance.
  • If you are on educational leave.
  • If you are on full-time family hospice leave.

Without any stress:

 

  • Either, by directly deducting the membership fee from your salary/wage.
  • Or via an automatic direct debit mandate. Your membership fee is then transferred every month.

 

You can find all details on both payment methods on your online membership registration form or your PDF membership registration form.

You can become a trade union member in any case - regardless of where you come from! No matter if you have an Austrian passport, if you come from an EU country or if you come from a non-EU country:

 

If you: 

- work in Austria; 

- are registered as unemployed in Austria; 

- are on unpaid release from work in Austria; 

- are on (early) maternity leave in Austria; 

- receive child benefit in Austria; 

- are a person earning below the social  insurance threshold in Austria; 

- are a pupil in Austria; 

- are studying in Austria; 

- are retired in Austria

- are an atypical worker in Austria;

- have a contract for work or services in Austria;

- have a freelance employment contract in Austria;

- are crowdworking in Austria or 

- work as a freelance journalist with a press card in Austria

 

then you can become a member of your trade union GPA. Contact us here if you are unsure whether we are the right union for you or if you have any other questions.