Comprehensive rights demanded for 'economically dependent workers'

A study presented in July 2003 by the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and Chamber of Labour (AK) finds that many 'economically dependent self-employed workers'- ie people who are formally self-employed but do not employ other people and often work only for a single client - work under precarious conditions in terms of income and social security. Therefore, the two organisations are demanding a redefinition of the concept of employment in order to achieve protection for these workers, in terms of labour law and social security, which is equivalent to that for standard employment.

On 22 July 2003, the Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB) and the Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer, AK) jointly presented a study on the working and living conditions of 'atypical' workers in Austria. The study (Atypisch beschäftigt - typisch für die Zukunft der Arbeit) evaluates interviews conducted in 2002 with 528 people who made use of special advisory services for 'atypical' workers offered by both ÖGB and AK. More precisely, the researchers’ focus group were self-employed people employed under either a 'free service contract' (freier Dienstvertrag) or a 'contract for work' (Werkvertrag) (TN0205101S). According to Austrian labour law, both groups are classified as self-employed in the narrow sense, although they do not employ other people and often work for only one client. Actually, their working situation resembles to a great extent that of (dependent) employees. People working on a 'contract for work' basis (also referred to as the 'new self-employed', or neue Selbständige) are obliged to fulfil a certain, well-defined task, regardless of whether they do this themselves or subcontract to other people. For their part, 'free service contract' workers provide an (often fixed-term) ongoing service. Formally, they are not subject to the instructions of the client and are free to schedule their own working time. Working materials, in general, have to be made available to these workers by the client.

Almost 60% of the interviewees in the ÖGB and AK survey said that they have been forced to accept an 'atypical' employment relationship due to the lack of 'regular' jobs. This supports the view that a growing number of employers offer 'atypical' jobs in order to save on social insurance contributions and bypass labour law commitments, and that an increasing number of people seeking jobs therefore work under 'non-standard' employment conditions. Since 'atypical' work is, in general, characterised by notable variations in terms of working hours and income, about 50% of the interviewees stated that they were looking for 'standard' employment. According to the research findings, the average net income of 'economically dependent self-employed workers' amounts to about EUR 900 per month or EUR 7.73 per hour. On an hourly income basis, women in such work without a school-leaving qualification are paid 17% less than their male counterparts. Moreover, 80% of the 'free service contract' workers and 63% of the 'new self-employed' interviewed offer their services to one client only, which means that the vast majority of this group is economically dependent on a single client. Since this group of workers is insufficiently insured against social risks (see below), 70% of the interviewees are said to face serious problems with their social security, in particular in the case of sickness (50%), unemployment (43%) and old age (33%).

At a joint press conference held on 22 July 2003, ÖGB and AK called for immediate legal initiatives to improve substantially the situation of the group in question. Otherwise, they argue, the widespread employment practices currently used by companies will give rise to a 'two-class' system of workers. Such tendencies are most evident in some service sectors where the share of 'atypical' (female) workers already exceeds the number of workers employed on standard terms. Therefore, according to ÖGB and AK, the present concept of 'employee' has to be redefined and modernised by making the existence of economic dependence the only criterion for classifying people as employees, regardless of working time, workplace, and nature of work. Hence, labour law should be extended to cover 'economically dependent self-employed workers', since at present, with a few exceptions, it does not apply to them. This should also include an entitlement for trade unions to conclude collective agreements for this group.

Concerning social security, ÖGB and AK demand that dependent, self-employed persons should be able to claim sickness and unemployment benefit. Since 1998, they have been under the coverage of Austria’s social insurance system, except for sickness and unemployment benefit. The government has expressed its willingness to extend unemployment insurance to dependent, self-employed workers on a voluntary basis (with self-employed people contributing a certain percentage of their gross income to unemployment insurance) (AT0205201N). This has been refused by organised labour, since only those who can afford the contributions could opt for such an opportunity.