Holidays: Entrepreneurs demands radical reforms in Austria!

Holidays: Entrepreneurs demands radical reforms in Austria!

Österreich - Stephan Zöchling, the head of the car supplier Remus and Pierer Mobility supervisory board, expresses a radical demand to improve competitiveness in Austria in a recent proposal. He argues that Austria has more church holidays than the Vatican and suggests to abolish a total of ten holidays a year. The aim of this measure is to increase the productivity and thus strengthen the business location, such as "https://www.oe24.at/businesslive/manager/10-feiertage-streichen-s-tetriemer-swirtschaft-letten/631298797"> OE24. Specifically,

Zöchling calls for the holidays to suspend for a period of five years or to postpone the weekend - a practice that is already successfully implemented in other countries. In addition, he speaks for zero wages and less bureaucracy to further increase competitiveness. This is done at a time when Zöchling and his supporters warn that urgent measures are necessary so as not to endanger Austria.

the reactions and the backing

The proposal of Zöchling is approved in business circles, while unions and churches will probably resist. As a compromise, Zöchling offers to move holidays to the weekends if they are considered important. This reflects the current discourse on the role of the social partnership in Austria, which has been for economic growth and social peace in the past 75 years, such as ORF will report.

In the new ORF III documentary "Talking instead of fighting-Austria and the social partnership", the history of this institution is highlighted. The documentation aims to focus on the importance of the social partnership, which has been important since the beginning of the second republic in Austria. Prominent protagonists like Emmerich Tálos and Renate Anderl have their say and discuss the challenges and successes of these merger.

meaning of the social partnership

The social partnership in Austria also has a decisive influence on the legislative process. It enables social partners to affect legal projects at an early stage. These are actively integrated into the process in consultations before the ministerial draft and Council of Ministers. In recent years, they have rarely agreed on common positions, such as the platform parlament.gv.at In 2023, a position paper on approval procedures was published, while the last joint statement before that was made in 2017 for investments in a sustainable future.

Zöchling emphasizes that the abolition of public holidays and the reform of working conditions are closely related to the role of the social partnership. The new documentation is also discussed in this status, which celebrated its premiere on November 19, 2022 as part of the ORF theme evening.