The discussions about a 32-hour working week for everyone do not stop after the initiative of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler. Read here how WIFO boss Gabriel Felbermayr thinks about the debate and why he would give employees more decision-making power.
A 32-hour working week with full wage compensation! SPÖ party leader Andreas Babler’s recently confirmed demand caused quite a stir. There is also head shaking in Upper Austria. “I am already worried about the wages and the extra wage costs. We have super high productivity, but also a huge increase in personnel costs. It is wrong to talk about six weeks of vacation and a 32-hour work week. “That doesn’t work,” says Robert Machtlinger, CEO of the Innviertel aircraft supplier FACC.
WIFO boss Gabriel Felbermayr is also concerned about the push for a 32-hour work week. “We have seen actual working hours decrease for decades, without the need for a law or strict guidelines from above. I would much rather have this model,” says the economist from Bad Hall.
Felbermayr would place the decision about working hours much more in the hands of the employees: “People should be able to say flexibly and appropriately to their stage of life: I sometimes work 30 hours, sometimes maybe 50 hours. ”
“It’s just different working at the blast furnace than at the office”
The collective labor agreements already include deviating standard working hours, the 47-year-old argues: “For good reasons! Because it is different to work in the blast furnace than in the office.” That is why he would find a law requiring a 32-hour workweek for all employees problematic.
His work? “I don’t have to look at the clock”
How many hours does he work himself? “I’m lucky that I don’t have to look at the clock, because my work doesn’t cause me much trouble. And I would like this to be possible for many people in the country. The question of whether the working hours are 32, 34 or 36 hours per week is alleviated if working is fun and you stay healthy.”
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.
