The second meeting between Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) and the Senior Council on Wednesday also did not lead to an agreement on the increase in pensions for 2023. The senior representatives found a certain understanding of their demands, “but we are still far apart,” said Peter Kostelka (SPÖ).
The senior representatives are calling for a ten percent increase in pensions before 2023, as this corresponds to inflation. The current government proposal, on the other hand, is based on an increase of 5.8 percent. This corresponds to the value that Statistics Austria calculated as average inflation between August 2021 and July 2022. Senior council chairman Peter Kostelka (SPÖ) emphasized again on Wednesday that this would not be enough.
Rauch: Exceptions for low pensions
“There is still a lot of room for improvement on the side of the government proposal,” Kostelka said. The requirements are justified, necessary and also affordable. Social Affairs Minister Rauch announced in the National Council last Wednesday that in any case low pensions should be increased by more than 5.8 percent. However, he also pointed out that an eight to ten percent increase in the budget would amount to 4.5 billion euros and that it is also the government’s responsibility to watch the budget.
Rauch will soon meet with Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP). If the senior representatives have their way, there should also be a price brake on heating costs for the winter. 70- to 80-year-olds couldn’t just make some extra money and were worried about getting through the winter, said Ingrid Korosec, president of the VP Senior Citizens’ Association. A date for the next round of negotiations has not yet been agreed.
Source: Krone
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