In view of declining working hours and productivity, the volume of work should not be reduced, but increased, demands IV President Georg Knill. Those who voluntarily work only part-time must make a higher contribution to the social system.
The shortage of skilled workers and labor is a major problem across Europe, Knill said. In Austria the situation is made worse by the particularly high part-time quota. “We have had a million more people in Austria in recent years and are working less overall,” Knill explained in the “C3 Business Talk” on Tuesday evening. “Of the four million working people in Austria, 30 percent work part-time.” Of these, 60 percent are women. At the same time, the costs of pensions, health care and care would rise. Anyone who, like SPÖ leader Andreas Babler, says that you can pay for this welfare state with less work is a “fairytale uncle,” Knill said.
“In Austria, working hours per employee have fallen sharply in recent years – from 2015 to 2023, these working hours fell from 1,520 to 1,448 hours.” Therefore, the volume of work needs to be urgently increased.
30 minutes extra work per day for economic growth
According to a study by EcoAustria, carried out on behalf of the trade association, working half an hour more per day in Austria would lead to economic growth of 1.2 percent per year. This measure alone could double economic growth in Austria. Annual taxes would therefore increase by two billion. The euro is rising, which means that, for example, 30,000 people could work in childcare or nursing, says Knill.
Europe is falling behind
But Europe has even more problems that are causing the EU to fall further behind in international competition, Knill said. These are also ‘home-made problems’, such as over-regulation and bureaucratic requirements, high energy, labor and capital costs and lengthy approval processes.
Europe must actively appear confident to the outside world and expand trade agreements with partner countries and regions. Foreign trade policy must also be viewed from the perspective of security policy. Europe must be able to defend itself in order to maintain European models of democracy and prosperity. The European internal market must be strengthened and trade barriers removed. This includes simplifying cross-border services and creating a genuine Capital Markets Union.
Investing in AI, rethinking the climate crisis
IV Secretary General Christoph Neumayer called for a massive increase in investments in the future subject of artificial intelligence. “Our recommendation in this context is that the 10th EU research funding program is increased by approximately €100 billion, i.e. from €100 billion to €200 billion.”
The EU has not tackled the energy crisis and the Corona crisis in the same way. Separating the electricity price zone from Germany alone will cost Austria two billion euros per year. Unfair practices such as the gas storage tax in Germany and Italy must be stopped.
Nevertheless, the EU is a success story and Austria as an export country would be unthinkable without the EU, Knill emphasized.
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.
