According to President of the Association of Industrialists Georg Knill, the Austrians not only retire too early, they also work too few hours on average. Austria is a part -time European champion with 31 percent. You must pay a minimal contribution to the social system -this should prevent social -free sign from driving.
Despite the crisis, Austria has a record number of employees, but they work on average less and fewer hours – part -time is high. More than 1.2 million Austrians work less, 31 percent of employees. Working hours have fallen from 1,600 to 1400 hours a year in the last 20 years, and Americans are around 25 percent more at work.
“Share -employees contribute too little”
“The decline of working hours is to tax the welfare state, because part-time employees do not contribute too little,” says IV president Georg Knill, who calls for an “honest and just contribution”. “You are currently financing the entire employees in the financing of part -time with their contributions,” says Knill -a social -free riding board, so to speak. More prosperity can generally only be achieved by more work.
The Industrial sees two central screws that politics can run: there is the progressive operating system. It leads to the following: everyone who doubles his working time from 20 to 40 hours, on average only 67.5 percent more is paid. Tax bonuses to switch to a full position or a flatter tax progression would be starting points.
Full -time forces finance part -time
The second important point is the contributions to the health insurance policy. The problem: At present, an employee in Austria can afford full protection against health insurance with 30 or 50 percent of the work. However, the full -time troops finance this “discount” with their contributions.
Knill suggests a “main bonus” such as in Romania or Switzerland. In the neighboring country, the contribution to health insurance does not depend on income, but fixed. You could also discuss the lower limits: “There is also a maximum contribution, why not a minimal contribution?” Asks Knill.
Apart from that, Knill also adds to the pension debate. From 2034, retirement age should increase by six months from 2034 and its 68 years old in 2040. “That would be a pragmatic approach in which the protection of legitimate expectations remains.” Knill recently pronounced a retirement age and brought a lot of criticism – also from the Union, who is now shooting against Knill’s advance.
Union finds a proposal “alien”
Also this time, GPA boss Barbara Tiber spoke: “The constant attacks of the Industrial Association on part-time employees cannot be defeated in cynicism. In childcare, Europe remains a large part of Europe and many industries do not offer full-time jobs, although employees want more hours.” The proposals are “cynical and strange,” said the Spö MP.
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.
