Employees in sectors with a collective labour contract are likely to see their salaries increase by an average 2.2 per cent this year.

However, the Federal Statistics Office says the hike – the biggest in six years – will be annulled by inflation expected to be 2.5 per cent this year.

The service sector is to benefit from an average 2.5 per cent rise, while the industrial sector stands at 1.8 per cent.

The wage increases include general as well as individual hikes.

Regular salary negotiations between organisations of employers and employees affect about 850,000 staff, almost 20 per cent fewer than in previous years as there were no talks concerning office workers and shop assistants.

Trade unions have called for bigger salary increases at the expense of company shareholders.

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