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The Budget Committee advises on budget chapters on work, family and youth
Vienna (PK) – The tense situation in the labor market and the widespread use of COVID’s short-term work model were the focus of the deliberations of the Budget Committee of the National Council on work. According to Christine Aschbacher, Minister of Labor, more than 109,000 short-term applications have already been received for 1.3 million jobs, of which almost 108,000 have received sufficient documents. So far, 96% of applications have been approved and 127 million euros have been paid. Regarding a possible extension or further development of the short-term work model, one is in intensive negotiations with the social partners, the minister said, with the aim of finding the least possible bureaucratic solution. However, it can also be seen that companies are out of work in the short term and decline in full employment.
In her role as Family Minister, Aschbacher said that from today’s perspective, summer camps for children with childcare should be possible. But one is still in talks here. The prerequisite is that the positive trend in infection numbers continues. Such offers would be particularly important for families who have used much of their vacation or have no other childcare options.
According to Aschbacher, the extent to which the existing budget of € 10 billion for the COVID 19 short-term working model is being exhausted cannot yet be estimated. In general, according to her, valid data are missing to show the effects of the Corona crisis in the budget of his department. The figures in the proposed budget would be based on Wifo’s forecast for late January. However, Aschbacher let parliamentarians get a number: Accordingly, the temporary increase in emergency aid to unemployment benefits will total around € 108 million.
The key points of the draft budget for work
Specifically, the draft budget for the breakdown of labor foresees expenses (disbursements) of € 8.4 billion and income (deposits) of € 7.54 billion. This would result in a negative balance of 864.4 million euros, which, however, will not be sustainable given recent developments in the labor market. The parliamentary budget service also points this out in its analysis. In calculating the numbers, it was assumed that unemployment would only increase slightly this year (+5,000 to 306,000 unemployed) and that the total number of employees would continue to grow by 1.1%. In mid-March, according to the budget service, the number of unemployed was approximately the same as in 2019.
The situation now looks different. At the end of April, 571,477 people registered as unemployed. During the year, WIFO’s main forecast variant assumes 355,000 jobless people. This not only increases the cost of unemployment benefits, emergency assistance and other benefits for job seekers, but also leads to a corresponding loss of income in the area of unemployment insurance.
But not only the sharp increase in unemployment, but above all, the short-term work model COVID-19 used by many companies will shake the budget. Even if the € 10 billion approved framework is not fully utilized. In any case, only € 20 million is budgeted for short-term work assignments. According to the budget service, the additional funds needed could be covered through the labor market reserve and the crisis management fund COVID-19.
In order to improve job market opportunities for older unemployed people, the federal budget provides an additional € 50 million for job creation and promotion for people over 50. In addition, the government has budgeted (570 million euros) higher funds for partial retirement after using this tool significantly more than expected. Up to 105 million euros are available for the reintegration of the long-term unemployed, and up to 57 million euros for the compulsory training of young people. The expiration of the 20,000 (€ 60 million) employment campaign will reduce spending. A further € 145 million has been budgeted for the training grant. There are no significant changes in the budget and staff of the labor inspectorate.
On the revenue side, among other things, the expiration of the termination tax (reversal tax) at the end of 2019 will have a negative impact of € -79.1 million. The controversial digital assistance system for AMS advisers to calculate job market opportunities (AMAS) would be used according to mid-2020 budget documents, but was temporarily suspended.
Short term job: some legal issues are still open
Aschbacher reaffirmed to NEOS MP Gerald Loacker that the short-term working model can only be used by companies based in Austria. Of the many legal questions about short-term work that have come up, most are answered, meaning exactly 202, but some are still open. “We are trying to resolve this as soon as possible,” said the minister.
Regarding the AMS burden cited by MP SPÖ MP Markus Vogl, Aschbacher repeated his statements in the Federal Council that the labor market service was supported by more than 500 external employees to handle short-term job applications. Another 200 people help with the settlement of the accounts. Additionally, AMS was allowed to halt the planned reduction and exaggerate position specifications for up to 150 positions this year. Training should start again on May 15.
Jobs were also provided during the peak of the crisis
However, Aschbacher explicitly emphasized that the AMS had provided jobs even during the height of the crisis, especially in critical supply areas. In March, however, there was a 38% decrease in the number of new jobs compared to the previous year. The trend continued to weaken in April with a value of minus 12%. According to Aschbacher, 45,000 jobs were recorded from the AMS reservation in the month in question, according to ÖVP MPs Tanja Graf and Ernst Gödl. Aschbacher is currently working on a decree on reinstating sanctions for refusing to work.
Aschbacher emphasized that it is difficult to predict how the unemployment rate will develop. Compared to the peak in mid-April, there are currently 39,000 fewer unemployed. Unemployment is already declining significantly in the construction industry, Aschbacher expects tourism to do the same soon.
To reduce the number of unemployed youth, more and more youth training offers will be offered. According to Aschbacher, around € 930 million is available for this area.
According to the minister, unemployment among people with disabilities increased by 25% in the first weeks of the crisis. That is below the average growth rate. However, it is not clear how the crisis will affect the job offensive for people with disabilities planned for 2020. The ministry hoped, among other things, through individualized counseling to be able to integrate 8,000 people with disabilities in the long-term labor market. Verena Nussbaum (SPÖ), Dagmar Belakowitsch and Michael Schnedlitz (both FPÖ) had raised this issue.
According to the Minister, no changes are planned for the year of integration. The skills and knowledge of recognized refugees would also continue to be gathered through competition controls. Around 167 million euros go to socio-economic and public service companies, said Green MP Markus Koza.
To cut red tape, Aschbacher wants to stick to deregulations in labor law. But there is still no schedule. It will definitely involve the social partners, said SPÖ MP Alois Stöger.
FLAF should report negative results due to the crown crisis
Due to the Corona crisis, the budget figures for families and youth (UG 25) are also subject to some uncertainties. Finally, funds for family, child and youth support services are largely provided by the FLAF (Family Burden Equalization Fund), whose financing depends largely on economic factors and labor market conditions, especially since the contribution of the Employer is the main source of income for this fund.
Even without taking into account the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, the draft budget for the family and youth area foresees expenses (disbursements) totaling € 7.39 billion, which corresponds to approximately 9% of the total federal outlays. Compared to the preliminary success in 2019, this represents an increase of 3.8%, which is mainly due to the originally estimated FLAF surplus of € 232.3 million. The most important items of expenditure are family allowances (€ 3.5 billion), transfers to social security institutions (€ 1.56 billion) and childcare subsidies (€ 1.23 billion). UG 25’s income (deposits), totaling € 7.57 billion, comes mainly from tax-like income (especially the employer’s contribution to FLAF) and from returns on maintenance advances.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic in financial year 2020 in the FLAF area will generate significantly lower revenue compared to the proposed budget. According to the initial estimates of the department, these could add some 267 million euros, as Minister Aschbacher said today. At the same time, measures to deal with the crisis are causing additional costs. In particular, the provision of 60 million euros for needy families and the possibility of extending the family allowance lead to higher financing requirements, so the additional costs in the area of family allowance are estimated at 20 million euros per year. , over a period of five years. . In this context, the expected FLAF surplus is likely to become a negative sign.
Minister Aschbacher still wants to adhere to the long-term goal of debt relief for the FLAF, as she assured NEOS MP Michael Bernhard. A major FLAF reform is not included in the government program, but individual projects are planned. First, however, it was necessary to await the effects of the crown crisis.
Confusion about savings from indexation of family allowances
There was confusion in the committee about the amount of annual savings from indexing family allowances for children living abroad. According to Aschbacher, the sum of 62 million euros mentioned in a parliamentary question does not reflect the concrete amount of savings. In this sense, it is also impossible to say to what extent the original savings targets could be achieved, a total of € 114 million per year, of which € 78 million were for family allowances and the rest for child tax credits. According to the Secretary General of the Family Department, no provisions have been made in case the ECJ repeals the regulation as illegal for the EU.
With regard to supporting families in emergency situations, Aschbacher referred to the special allowance of the Family Difficulties Fund with € 30 million and the provision of another € 30 million through a recently established family crisis fund. The minister reported that 65,000 electronic or paper applications had already been received. The first payments were made in May. Unlike SPÖ MP Andrea Kunzl, Aschbacher was confident that the funds would be sufficient, but did not rule out an increase. “No one will be left behind,” he said, stressing that aid will not be paid at the expense of other grants.
The importance of family counseling centers has also been mentioned several times by MEPs, particularly in times of the Corona crisis. According to Aschbacher, they will receive more budget this year than in previous years.
The expansion of kindergartens places jobs due to the crisis in Corona
As for the largest expansion of child care places for children under three, she is in talks with the federal states, Aschbacher explained. Everyone who needs child care should have one available. The minister believes that the so-called “Barcelona objective” should be reached no later than the year of kindergarten 2021/22, although some projects would be stalled by the Corona crisis. There is still no data on whether the legal right introduced to the “Papamonat” has increased the father’s participation in child care.
Barbara Neßler (Greens), among others, addressed impending problems with childcare in the summer. She is aware of this problem, Aschbacher said and expressed high praise for the parents’ accomplishments in the past few weeks. Childcare offerings in communities are important. From today’s perspective, nothing should stand in the way of summer camps with nurseries.
Aschbacher explained to Maximilian Köllner (SPÖ), Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) and Michael Bernhard (NEOS) that additional payments and deficiencies in maintenance payments due to the COVID 19 pandemic cannot be estimated. In any case, no there would have been deviations from the previous year in late April. As for the gap in the advance of maintenance payments, she is in contact with the Minister of Justice. The budget for this area is 137.7 million euros.
Aschbacher does not want to shake the planned further development of the family bond into a family bond.
At the request of Eva-Maria Holzleitner and Julia Herr (both SPÖ) for a valuation of funds for youth promotion, Aschbacher noted that the same funds were available for youth policy measures as in 2019, that is, 8.93 million euros. Of this, 6.5 million euros would go to 37 youth organizations. These provided valuable support in the Corona crisis, said the department head, referring, among other things, to preparing youth-friendly information and using young helpers. The minister told Michael Schnedlitz (FPÖ) that the promised grants will also be paid in those cases where the projects had to be canceled or canceled due to COVID-19. The main objective of project financing in 2020 is digitization and media literacy, prevention of violence and addictions and intergenerational dialogue. Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) expressly appreciated the option to extend the family allowance.
The distribution of funds in concrete terms: 90% of payments are transfer payments
If the current federal estimate for 2020 is assumed, that is, without reduced COVID-related income and additional expenses, payments at UG 25 increase this year by € 274 million compared to provisional success in 2019. Increased benefits from the FLAF (+82, 4 million euros) in particular for transfers to social security institutions (for example, contributions to pension insurance for parenting periods), free school and apprentice trips, family allowances and Childcare. FLAF’s budgeted surplus of € 232.3 million should have been paid into the reserve fund for family allowances.
Due to the new responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Labor, Family and Youth (BMAFJ) as a result of the 2020 amendment by BMG, the costs of personnel and materials have been moved to UG 25 (+ € 24.4 million). According to the economic breakdown, almost 90% of the payments in the estimate are made for transfers. These go to private households (€ 4.7 billion) in the form of a family allowance or childcare allowance, as well as to public bodies and legal entities (for example, pension contributions for parenting periods, health insurance, partial reimbursement of maternity allowance expenses). The core elements of operating expenses (€ 0.6 billion) are expenses for in-kind benefits of the FLAF (especially school trips for schoolchildren and apprentices, textbooks). The additional payments in the breakdown refer in particular to maintenance advances and personnel costs.
Impact objectives: the Budget Service would have liked to take more account of the development of the risk of poverty
The department’s core goals include improving work and family compatibility, increasing parent involvement, expanding the comprehensive provision of child care, implementing youth work as a cross-cutting theme, and promoting parenting. The focus is also on the use of modern management tools, such as the berufundfamilie audit and the expansion of free counseling services for families. The measures recently introduced in 2017 (child care subsidy account, family time bonus and partnership bonus), which are intended to support a better balance between work and family life, are currently being scientifically examined, and the final report It should be available in 2021.
According to the budget service, it should be noted that not all family benefits are budgeted at UG 25. For example, the family bonus and the child tax credit are paid outside the FLAF and therefore are not reflected in the subdivision in question (final budget committee) gs / sue
NOTE: The Parliament’s budget service offers economic analyzes of budget policy and templates from the Federal Ministry of Finance. All current data on budget execution (monthly reports) can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The new federal financial framework is also being negotiated alongside the 2020 budget.
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