The chairman of the Tyrol Chamber of Commerce, Christoph Walser, on Monday joined the call of Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) to give asylum seekers who had a good chance of staying access to the labor market. On the one hand this allows people to be integrated and on the other hand the shortage of labor is counteracted. Walser also sharply criticized the government’s labor and immigration policies.
Walser suggested that asylum seekers could be admitted to the labor market after three or six months. The immigration issue must be addressed now: “It will not be long in coming,” he said. “We have to make sure where we house people and not in weird tents.” Walser argued that work can provide asylum seekers with a daily structure while at the same time counteracting labor shortages.
“Just Not Enough Employees”
He spoke out loud against “fomenting xenophobia” on this issue. “We have always needed immigration to the labor market in Austria.” It is a “total farce” to say that people from abroad would take someone’s job in Austria. There are simply not enough workers in Austria at the moment. “If the AMS can’t fill a vacancy, what’s the problem with getting someone from abroad?” he asked.
Red-White-Red Map still “too formalistic”
Bernhard Achatz, head of the employment and social law department at WK Tirol, is of the same opinion. If people work, integration can also be improved, he argued. Asylum seekers are currently employed as seasonal workers through the third country quota, which according to Walser and Achatz is far too small. Like Minister of Economic Affairs Mario Gerber (ÖVP), they are again demanding an increase in the quota from currently about 700 to 1,500 places. According to Achatz, you have “arranged a lot” with the Red-White-Red card, but it is still “too formalistic”.
Strong criticism of the federal government
However, the failure of negotiations between the ÖVP and the Greens on the labor market amendment only last week, Walser called a “devastating signal”. Especially since the government in Germany has only recently agreed on new rules for the immigration of workers. “In Germany, people act and don’t just talk. That is a big difference from what is happening in Austria,” Walser criticized the “entire government, whoever it is that nothing is happening”.
“We need a government that is able to act. Whoever blocks must move,” Walser clarified. Germany would now “suck Austria’s skilled workers from abroad”, and in this country one would only watch.
There is a shortage of 25,000 workers in Tyrol
However, Walser and Achatz have made some proposals. The tax-advantaged overtime will be increased from ten to twenty and pensioners must be able to continue to work tax-free or at a reduced rate. This was also what Tyrolean Governor Anton Mattle and State Councilor Astrid Mair (both ÖVP) demanded at the state governors’ conference last week. Walser was “incomprehensible why politicians have such a hard time acting here”. After all, 20 percent of people who retire want to continue working and Tyrol currently has a shortage of about 25,000 workers.
right to childcare
Partial retirement should also be made more attractive and childcare should be expanded. Walser again argued for the legal right to childcare that had already been agreed upon by the black and red state government. The legal entitlement is therefore necessary so that the expansion of the places is not postponed “indefinitely”. With a transitional phase of a maximum of five years, it could be possible for the municipalities – also in planning associations – to make the infrastructure available.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
