Hacker about Chamber: – “You will be afraid and worried about the salaries”

“Kron”: Alderman, I’m about to enter the door. The new package for hospital staff – are you serious?
Peter Hacker: Final.

150 million euros for 30,000 employees. The Ministry of Science has put together a personnel package for MedUni Vienna: 55 million euros for 2,300 employees. Yours sounds stingy in comparison.
No, that’s not stingy. I can only say that the feedback from the employees is extremely positive. For them it is a noticeable increase, especially in the areas of particular stress. This concerns night shifts, weekend shifts and stand-in shifts. And in addition to this increase, there is also the salary agreement, which applies to all city employees. By the way, with the university package it is only an increase that includes both.

Let’s take a look at the salary comparison of a qualified nurse. Improvement per month: 455 euros gross. For a working week of 40 hours, although it is probably much more, this amounts to approximately 1.40 euros net more per hour. I give more tips to every food delivery person.
Yes, of course we can now reduce it to minutes and then to seconds. That changes nothing. Ultimately, it is not what is paid out per minute that counts, but what is paid out at the end of the month. And the fact is: 450 euros plus remains 450 euros plus. You can’t blame that.

You have not changed the basic salary of the existing medical profession. Why?
Because we have not changed the basic salary of all employees. We have agreed on this for phase 2, which will be negotiated at the end of next year. We will also address other questions. For example, around part-time jobs.

Are you downplaying the doctors’ protest as a punch-stand tour?
The doctors’ protest is a protest by a medical association. I get so many letters from doctors who just say: for God’s sake, I can’t do anything with this room anymore. This is why the image of the Chamber among doctors is at such a low point, research shows. The fact is that people cannot find a doctor. Two-thirds of women do not have a legal gynecologist because one does not exist. You have to imagine what that means in a city with two million inhabitants. And that’s a scandal because the medical association has completely different things on its radar. Because it’s about their income. Because it’s about the fact that they have official salaries there, you get scared and worried about that. They earn many times more than I do. At least twelve percent of established healthcare in Vienna. And the medical association not only overlooked this, but also has responsibility for this development.

Doctors have always complained about excessive bureaucracy. What do you do about it?
I don’t know anyone who isn’t annoyed by bureaucracy. We live in a time where more and more documentation is needed. You as media send us questions and expect answers by noon. Then you ask whether it is true that Mrs. Wawerl was given nothing to drink in the hospital. The Kronen Zeitung would drive us crazy if I answered: We have not documented it to reduce bureaucracy. You would never accept that. However, it follows that every time Mrs. Wawerl drinks a bottle it should be documented. This is how our system works. Quality assurance systems function on the basis of documentation.

But Mr. City Council, I am not calling you personally to ask whether Mrs. Wawerl sucked on her water bottle often enough or not. But preferably one of your three press spokespersons who will take on this bureaucratic burden for you. Doctors don’t have that. What about hiring more documentation assistants?
We have a large number and we have now increased them again. And if necessary, there will be more. We are also considering whether we can use AI-supported software, for example, so that doctor documentation can be delivered in a completely different way. But at the end of the day, you can’t take the documentation away from the doctors completely. That won’t be possible.

You mentioned earlier the secondary employment of hospital doctors. Should they be banned now?
This will be regulated. Part-time work is conceivable if it takes place in public healthcare.

Does this mean the end of private practice?
Yes. It cannot be that the business model looks like this: I work ten hours in the hospital. There I check whether I have pension insurance, health insurance and accident insurance. And at the same time I’m in private practice. This model is a discontinued model.

But if you stop doctors from doing this, you’ll have to make up the financial losses with your salary, right?
I don’t see it at all.

Does this measure make the job as a hospital doctor more attractive?
Yes, I think so. And you can also run a cash register at the same time. That is conceivable.

Last point: do you have an assignment?
No.

What do you say about the current incidents surrounding district leader Ernst Nevrivy and Co.?
I think it’s an unfortunate image. On the other hand, it cannot be that we all have to join the Jesuit order because we are in politics. To be honest, I don’t know much about allotments. And that’s why I offend some people when I say: I don’t understand life in allotments at all.

Is that a horror idea for you?
This starts with the petunia hedges and extends to mowing the lawn and the snails that you climb on at night. I like living in a high-rise apartment. And if a gutter is clogged, I call the manager. Beautiful.

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