Post-war, the national economy was in ruins, and the ÖVP-led government instituted a severe austerity programme. The planned measures ("Viertes Lohn- und Preisabkommen", ) included substantial price increases but minor wage increases, and large-scale strike movements formed in protest from 26 September to 6 October 1950. This, the largest strike action in the post-war history of Austria, started in the Steyr and Voest factories and the nitrogen plants in the American zone of occupation, and by 10:00 a.m. the number of strikers reached 15,000. Over 120,000 workers participated in the first day of the strike. However, the interruption of the strike to legitimize it with a conference of all Austrian work councils took the momentum out of the movement and in the second phase the concentration of strikes shifted to the Soviet zone of occupation.