SPÖ demands repayment of KTM donation – Christmas hardship for employees!

SPÖ demands repayment of KTM donation – Christmas hardship for employees!

In a dramatic turn of events, KTM, the renowned motorcycle manufacturer, was forced to fail to pay November salaries and much of the Christmas bonus, leaving the workforce in dire financial straits. According to reporting by Krone.at In addition, the promised advance on the December salary has not been received. This situation prompted former Federal Minister Alois Stöger of the SPÖ to call on the ÖVP to return a previous donation to the party from KTM boss Stefan Pierer. Stöger described it as unreasonable that employees have to worry about their wages during the Christmas season, while the ÖVP simply withholds Pierer's donation of over 436,000 euros.

Political demands and criticism

The donation that was transferred to the ÖVP in 2017 for the Kurz team led to a scandalous stir and an appearance by Pierer in the “Ibiza” investigative committee. Stöger demanded that the funds – which would mean around 120 euros per employee – should go to the affected employees as quickly as possible. He made it clear that the people of Upper Austria expect answers and action from the state government, not silence. The insolvency procedure stipulates that the insolvency compensation fund will pay the outstanding wages to employees, but the money is not expected to flow until the end of January, according to Kurier.at reported.

In the midst of this financial turbulence, the planned takeover of fire equipment supplier Rosenbauer by a consortium in which Pierer plays a role is also being critically questioned. Stöger expressed concerns that Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, which is involved in the consortium, could suffer high losses as a result of KTM's insolvency. At the same time, he asked why the government is not seeking more funds for active labor market policy in the region and therefore not proactively counteracting the job losses at KTM.