After three years of Corona, many healthcare workers are exhausted. They demand the full healthcare allowance of 2000 euros.
Some 160,000 nurses and tens of thousands of other health workers are bitterly disappointed in the government. The nurses only receive 800 instead of the promised bonus of 2000 euros for the year 2022, others receive nothing at all.
After the ‘Krone’ report about the ‘bonus farce’, dozens of letters from angry nurses trickled in to the vida union. Many of them want to take to the streets with their displeasure and are ready to demonstrate. “I am currently reading the ‘Kronen Zeitung’ and I am one of those people who are pissed off and pissed off! It is very unfair how we are currently being treated,” writes an operating assistant. She does not see a penny of the nursing bonus, because the premium is only paid to registered nursing staff, but not to employees who do similar work but have a different job title.
SPÖ: The government must apply its own laws
The opposition demands that the government pay out the full 2,000 euros without any deductions. To do this, you just need to abide by your own laws, says SPÖ social spokesman Josef Muchitsch. The ÖVP and the Greens have passed their own law that makes it possible for employers to pay their employees up to 3,000 euros tax-free in 2021 and 2022, initially as a corona bonus and this year as a supplement to the cost of living.
“But the republic of all people doesn’t do that with the care bonus,” the trade unionist wonders. The FPÖ is also demanding a correction and has requested appropriate adjustments in Parliament through a motion for a resolution.
Minister Rauch sees no need for action
Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health Johannes Rauch van de Groenen argues the payment of the premium as a taxable salary component as follows: So that this is also “pension-effective” and is also paid out as a regular salary component in 2023, this variant has been chosen .
The aim is to permanently increase the salaries of nursing staff. The minister also passes the ball on to the federal states. “Of course, the states can supplement the federal government’s salary subsidy with their own resources.” Only Niederösterreich makes use of this possibility.
There have been several demonstrations by the nurses – now the union is ready to take to the streets again.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
