The discussion about shorter working hours for the same wage continues. “People in Austria feel very well that this wish is not possible across the board,” said Labor and Economy Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP).
The 32-hour working week is, among other things, a core requirement of the new SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler. He received support from, among others, the Greens and trade unions. “We as PRO-GE represent workers who do hard physical work involving cold and dirt,” said the new boss of the manufacturing union, Reinhold Binder. Short-time work is necessary under such circumstances “to be able to grow old healthily”.
Minister of Labor and Economy Martin Kocher (ÖVP) sees things differently. “Working less for the same wages and the same high social benefits is simply not possible, because that means that our prosperity and our high social benefits cannot be maintained,” he told the “Kurier”. weekly hours in separate sectors would already exist. Alternatively, strong wage increases are “the right of the KV negotiator”.
Unemployment particularly high in Vienna
There is a strong east-west unemployment gap in Austria. In June, for example, the rate in Vienna was 10.2 percent, while in Salzburg and Tyrol it was just three percent. If an unemployed person is young, unrooted and has no care obligations, then it should be possible to place the job seeker nationwide, Kocher said. But more incentives and support are needed.
According to the new head of the Vienna Public Employment Service (AMS), the fact that unemployment is higher in Vienna is due to the relatively high proportion of immigrants in the population. The city has grown by half a million people in the last 30 years. “The advantage is that she (population, n.d.) is now younger. The disadvantage is that jobs have not quite kept up with population growth,” explains Winfried Göschl.
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.
