Government negotiations in Vienna are in full swing. Meanwhile, Stefan Sternad, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Gastro of Carinthia, is making people sit up and take notice of controversial demands. This includes absenteeism due to illness, which puts pressure on entrepreneurs.
The local catering industry has been under great pressure in recent years, as De Kroon reports extensively. “Rising personnel costs combined with a shortage of employees, an increase in the costs of goods and energy and, last but not least, excessive bureaucracy have taken their toll on our companies,” criticizes Stefan Sternad, chairman of the catering department in Carinthia. Chamber of Commerce. The man from Villach uses the slow negotiations on a new federal government as an opportunity to apply a lot of pressure: “We have paid lip service long enough. We have had enough of that, now concrete action is needed,” says Sternad, who mainly wants solutions in four areas:
The gastro spokesperson has been advocating for tax-free overtime for some time: “We teach people not to do anything,” says Sternad angrily. There is an urgent need to reduce the tax burden for those who are performance-oriented and want to work more: “The catering industry demands that all overtime be made tax-free – you must be able to build up some extra work. Apparently this was the demand that was even stated in the coalition newspapers during the negotiations between ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos.
“If you want to work, you can’t be stupid”
According to Sternad, the reform of the tax rate and the increase to 650,000 euros were also discussed during the government negotiations: “We have already provided a lot of content for this major project,” says the gastro spokesperson. This would reduce the tax burden and bureaucracy. Sternad also advocates increasing the additional income limits for students and reducing taxes and tax burden for retirees: “Students or retirees who are willing to work are punished for their work instead of rewarded. If you want to work, you can’t be stupid!”
Controversial proposal regarding sick leave
The stakeholder is particularly courageous when it comes to the sick leave scheme. Depending on the length of employment, entrepreneurs finance continued payment of wages during illness for six to twelve weeks: “Continued payment of wages during sick leave is one of the most burning issues,” Sternad is certain. The current arrangement affects the survival of many restaurateurs: “We demand that the costs of sick leave be fully covered from the fourth day!” The social insurance institutions have to pay for this: “The ÖGK has the second largest budget in the republic!”
Sternad also hopes that this will intensify controls by the authorities: “Short-term absenteeism is also a problem; I would like to start an objective discussion about whether there should be sick days of less than three days at all – or whether this period should be compensated with compensatory hours, vacation or something similar. “The social insurers have to pay from the fourth day of illness,” says Sternad, who questions this regulation. The restaurant owner is also critical of reporting illness by telephone or retroactively: “Yes, unpleasant topics need to be discussed – but that is reasonable for people. Especially for the good taxpayers and hackers!”
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.
