Workers in alarm! FPÖ defends itself against radical holiday deletion!

Workers in alarm! FPÖ defends itself against radical holiday deletion!

The focus of a current debate about the future of public holidays is Stephan Zöchling, the managing director of the car supplier Remus and the chairman of the supervisory board of Pierer Mobility. In an interview, Zöchling called for a radical deletion of public holidays to combat the recession. His demands have triggered discussions in both economic and politics.

Michael Oberlechner, Member of the National Council of the FPÖ and chairman of the Freedom Employees Vienna, has sharply criticized Zölling's statements. He described them as hostile to workers and questioned whether the deletion of public holidays was sufficient to solve the government's budget problems. Oberlechner sees a harassment and an affront to believing citizens in Zölling's advance. He appeals to the population to send a sign against such statements next Sunday and to support the FPÖ.

economic considerations on public holidays

The discussion about the deletion of public holidays is not only relevant in Austria. Similar debates also take place in Germany, where the abolition of a holiday is considered. According to the institute of the German economy, such a measure could result in great financial advantages. It is estimated that an additional working day could increase the gross domestic product (GDP) by 5 to 8.6 billion euros. However, a holiday accounts for around 0.4 percent of working hours and could influence up to 0.2 percent of economic output in various industries.

An example from Denmark shows that the deletion of a holiday can have positive effects. A holiday was deleted there last year, which led to an increase in wages and an additional financial injection of 400 million euros for the state budget. This illustrates the challenges and opportunities associated with the deletion of public holidays, especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers, which could arise from the upcoming retirement of the baby boomers.

complex implementation and different opinions

The implementation of a holiday deletion is anything but easy. In Germany, the federal system requires individual resolutions in every federal state, which would make the implementation considerably complicated. Unions such as Verdi call for additional days off with full wage compensation as part of collective bargaining, which further heats up the discussion for public holidays.

While some economists advocate the abolition of a holiday, many warn of the possible negative consequences, especially with regard to the necessary recovery of the employees. The different effects of such measures on the economic performance in different industries also complicates the debate.

The coming time will show whether these controversy views will be reflected in concrete political measures and which steps are taken to find the balance between economic interests and the needs of the employees. However, the participants agree that the discussion about holidays and their maintenance is of great importance in times of change.

For further details on the statements of Stephan Zöchling and Michael Oberlechner, we refer to the reporting of OTS as well as the current analysis on holidays and its effects on the economy on The German Economy .