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The WKÖ presents a package of measures: qualification, increasing the mobility and flexibility of the workforce as well as increasing the
The focus is on the potential of the labor market. Shortening working hours is not a problem.
In light of the crown-related labor market crisis and the regional shortage of skilled workers, the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) is pushing for greater worker mobility and more skills. Other tightening screws to prevent unemployment from solidifying are declining unemployment benefits and a reduction in ancillary wage costs, WKÖ chairman Harald Mahrer said in Vienna on Wednesday.
Mahrer and WKÖ General Secretary Karlheinz Kopf jointly present a package of measures to increase employment at a press conference. “The Covid 19 crisis is a turning point for the Austrian job market,” said the head of WKÖ. Despite high unemployment figures, “countless companies” are looking for workers. However, the unemployed would often not live where jobs are offered.
The president of WKÖ wants to discuss the AMS reasonableness provisions for the unemployed, for example in terms of travel time. “There is more to do with commuting and moving.” The goal is not “the great compulsion”, but incentives. In eastern Austria, large investments in training are also necessary.
According to WKÖ general secretary Kopf, the crown crisis will bring “a push towards digital transformation” just like the economic crisis of 2008/09. The goal is “higher qualification and requalification as close to work as possible.”
“Make bigger cakes”
There is a categorical rejection by representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of the long-standing union demand for a reduction in working hours. “The goal should be to make the cake bigger and not to do the opposite,” Mahrer said.
Next Tuesday, September 15, the social partners and the government will meet for a labor market summit. The Chamber of Labor and the union have invited. WKÖ boss Mahrer wants to “discuss the fair, the open and the taboo” at the meeting.
In its package of measures, the Chamber of Commerce focuses on increasing the mobility and flexibility of the workforce, as well as increasing the potential of the labor market. Among other things, WKÖ representatives call for part-time training to be provided to make it more interesting for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), even after short-time work. Furthermore, the outplacement and displacement foundations would have to be combined into the government-planned corona labor foundation to achieve a high level of practical relevance.
The Chamber of Commerce wants the AMS to promote the supra-regional placement of the unemployed. Chamber of Commerce representatives want to achieve work incentives with a declining staging of unemployment benefits (when the economy recovers) and a time limit for marginal part-time employment for the unemployed.
WKÖ General Secretary Kopf was satisfied with the development of the short-time job. On behalf of the AMS, the Chamber of Commerce carried out in August a survey on the valuation of companies on the extension of the reduced working day from October. 10,750 companies were surveyed. 60 percent of companies currently working short time want to take advantage of short time work after September. Forty-nine percent of companies planning an extension want to extend it until at least March 2021, and another 25 percent beyond. “This illustrates the great importance of short-time work for the labor market and job protection,” commented Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher (ÖVP) on the current WKÖ survey.
(THAN)
