Last year, the Chamber of Labor conducted approximately 2.3 million consultations nationwide. Questions about layoffs, salaries and unpaid overtime make up the lion’s share of advice, about two-thirds: “We receive a lot of questions because the income is incorrect. Either the overtime has not been paid, or your rating is too low,” explains AK president Renate Anderl. In the krone.tv lecture she calls for fines for companies.
The Austrians work hard, as evidenced by the overtime, says Anderl. “We work 181 million overtime hours!” The sad thing is that 49 million of them are not paid. Anderl wants to discuss this fact with politicians soon. “Because if we file a report and go to court, the employer must pay back. In reality, however, he only repays what was withheld from the employee, with very small out-of-pocket costs. What we are missing is a fine.”
Renate Anderl presents the comparison with fines for fare evasion: “If I travel in public on Vienna’s public transport and forget my ticket, you do not pay the cost of the ticket, but you pay a hefty fine. So you remember it and don’t do it again.” It is now common practice for people not to pay overtime, but to assume that their employer will pay it. “This saves companies a lot of money, at the expense of employees.”
“Longer opening hours increase the pressure”
The boss of Rewe Austria recently called for supermarkets to be open until 11 p.m. Renate Anderl obviously doesn’t think much about it: “I just wonder whether I can go shopping more with my income or only at other times. I think we forget about female employees in the discussion.” It is precisely in this field that mainly women work. Anderl is not only concerned with ‘single women’, but also with regular family life, which is therefore ‘destroyed’.
It also increases the pressure: “I haven’t heard that there will be twice as many employees in retail. Let’s be honest: if there are too few staff, it is the consumer who gets angry.”
You can see the entire interview with Renate Anders in the video above!
We explain what Austria is currently dealing with: the latest news conversations with politicians and experts.
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.
