Gächter, August
Measures to further women's careers
27 januari 1998
The Minister for Women's Affairs has made it clear that she wishes to make
progress in 1998 on the issue of women's careers in enterprises. Studies in
the past years have proven the existence of a "glass ceiling" through which
women are unlikely to pass. An 11-point women's petition submitted to
Parliament in 1997 put combating this glass ceiling first on the list of
demands. Specifically, the petition suggested that companies should be
excluded from public contracts and subsidies unless they had taken measures
to employ women at all hierarchical levels in proportion to their share in
the population. The Ministry sees little opportunity to go quite that far,
but it does want to take action in this direction.
Employee protection in small firms
27 januari 1998
Joining the European Union in 1995 made it necessary for Austria to improve
the regulations on employee protection against hazards. This included
particularly the appointment of safety officers in enterprises, the
documentation of hazards, and the availability and job descriptions of
occupational medical practitioners. A plan was drawn up to implement better
protection in stages, starting in 1997 with firms employing more than 100
workers. On 1 January 1998, firms with between 51 and 100 employees became
subject to the new regulations, and on 1 January 1999 those with 11 to 50
employees will follow. Finally in 2000, the remaining companies with 10 or
fewer employees will also be covered.
Unions seek further harmonisation of labour law
27 januari 1998
The Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund,
ÖGB) has launched a campaign in 1998 to make good on one of its
long-standing demands: the removal of the remaining legal differences between
wage earners/blue-collar workers (Arbeiter) and salary earners/white-collar
workers (Angestellten). In the late 1970s, equality in holiday regulations
and severance pay was achieved. Now ÖGB wants regulations concerning wage
earners' payment during sickness and dismissal notice periods to be brought
up to salary earner standards. The ÖGB sees this as the final phase of a
historical social policy project. The Austrian Chamber of the Economy
(Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) has made it clear it opposes any
measure that would increase total wage costs, this being one of the hottest
issues between social partners at national level. By the WKÖ's reckoning,
upward equalisation would cost ATS 10 billion per year, while the ÖGB
estimates the net cost to be about ATS 1 billion per year. There are 1.3
million wage earners on annual average, about 43% of total employment.
Trade unions reorganise
27 januari 1998
At the 1995 congress of the Austrian Trade Union Federation
(Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB) its member trade unions decided
to reorganise. The goal is to reduce the number of individual trade unions
from 14 to three, covering manufacturing, services, and public service. There
is no clear time-limit for the process. In the first two years little was
achieved by way of obvious results, but 1998 promises to bring the first of
these. On 21 January 1998 two trade unions, the Union of Printing and Paper
Workers (Gewerkschaft Druck und Papier) and the Union of Posts and
Telecommunications Employees (Gewerkschaft der Post- und
Fernmeldebediensteten) concluded a cooperation agreement. They are forming a
jointly and proportionately financed platform to decide policy measures and a
joint steering committee with proportional representation. The rationale is
the unions' shared activity in the media sector. By 2000, they want to unite
their offices in one location. A full merger in the future is not ruled out,
neither is it explicitly planned. According to press reports, the ÖGB's
president commented that a merger might have been the result if the ÖGB
could have taken decisions like a joint stock company.
Limited implementation of annual working time model in construction
27 januari 1998
A collective agreement on working time was concluded in the construction
industry on 9 August 1996. Although it became effective retroactively from 1
July 1996, its first impact was felt only in 1997. The main aim was to reduce
the industry's reliance on the national unemployment insurance system though
workers being laid off during the winter, and to distribute the cost of doing
so between enterprises and employees. It is now possible to make a first
assessment of the deal's effects.
Sunday work - recent debates and developments
27 december 1997
Work on Sunday is in principle prohibited in Austria. However, the law
permits exemptions to be made by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs
for basic necessities or for economic or technological reasons, and by the
heads of provincial governments for exceptional regional supply purposes. New
legislation in 1997 also opened the door for the social partners to conclude
collective agreements permitting Sunday work if this is deemed necessary in
order to safeguard or create employment (AT9703107N [1]). If the proposed
Sunday work is to be only temporary and connected with the introduction of
new technology, an exemption can also be granted by the Central Labour
Inspectorate (Zentrales Arbeitsinspektorat). Recently, a number of
enterprises - some industrial, some in retailing, some in other services -
have made demands for such exemptions. This has, in turn, led to a debate
among the social partners and the broader public about the use and abuse of
Sunday work regulations.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/more-flexibility-in-sunday-working
Railway pensions reform agreed
27 december 1997
On 9 December 1997 the pension reform for those employees of the Austrian
Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB) with civil servant
status was concluded. This was the final part of the pensions reform the
Government had set out to achieve at the beginning of 1007 (AT9711144F [1]).
Because ÖBB pensions are not regulated by law or by collective agreement but
by individual employment contracts, the reform posed serious problems. It was
finally achieved by way of a delicate balance between legal reform and works
agreement. This was accompanied by serious tensions within the coalition
Government.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-social-policies/pension-reform-nears-completion
Combating youth unemployment
27 december 1997
The Austria Government has taken three new measures aimed at facilitating
youth employment. In the first, a clause was added to the Federal Tendering
Act (Bundesvergabegesetz), as part of the general tendering conditions,
requiring that in awarding tenders for contracts, the employment of persons
on a training contract be taken into account. Parliament approved this
change. No explicit mention of apprenticeship contracts was made, because
this would conflict with European Union regulations. The new clause takes
effect from 1 January 1998.
Campaign against illegal employment
27 december 1997
At the beginning of December 1997, the Austrian Government announced plans
for a "clean workplace campaign" (Aktion sauberer Arbeitsplatz) aimed at
combating illegal employment. The main objective is to get a better grip on
taxable income but a secondary aim is clearly to please the social partners
after 1997's acrimonious pensions debate (AT9709134N [1]). At the Ministry of
Labour, Health and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Gesundheit
und Soziales, BMAGS), six working groups were set up with a remit to devise
tighter controls and more adequate penalties. In all working groups, the
social partners are included along with representatives of various
ministries.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/pensions-reform-remains-a-divisive-issue
1997 Annual Review for Austria
27 december 1997
The economic situation in Austria proved stable in 1997, with growth rates
reaching 2% in real terms. These are expected to rise further to 2.7% in
1998. Economic growth was largely export-driven as the increase in domestic
incomes was limited. Inflation was reduced to 1.4% and is expected to remain
at this level in 1998. The level of unemployment was steady at 4.4% and is
expected to decrease only slightly in 1998. The budget deficit amounted to
2.5% of GDP, which is half of the 1995 level, and it is expected that this
decrease will continue.