ÖVP Labor Minister Martin Kocher has upset the GPA. In the “Kurier” he said, when asked about the poor job opportunities for older people with disabilities, that they “have it more difficult”, which is also due to the collective agreements, which made older people more expensive.
“In my view, that is the biggest stumbling block, which is why we have to level off the seniority in the collective agreements, where it still exists,” said Kocher.
Barbara Teiber, leader of the GPA trade union, reacted angrily today: “You could expect a Minister of Labor to understand the application of collective agreements. For new hires, only a certain number of previous periods of service are taken into account, regardless of whether an employee is 35 or 55. It would be better for the minister to do his homework in-house instead of telling us unions how wage policy should be done.”
ÖGB: “Importance of collective agreements not understood”
Furthermore, the employee representative said in a broadcast: “Labour Minister Kocher should not cheaply wipe himself off with collective agreements that he apparently does not understand. Blaming high earnings for the unemployment of older disabled people is cynical.”
Teiber received support from colleague Ingrid Reischl, Executive Secretary of the ÖGB. “Anyone who describes collective agreements as a ‘stumbling block’ in the fight against unemployment has not understood the application and importance of collective agreements,” she stated.
Kocher wants to “enable qualified immigration”
In the future, Köcher would like to prevent a family from being deported, as was recently the case in Upper Austria, even though they worked in shortage occupations. “Yes, of course. That is the goal that we are pursuing with the reform of the Red-White-Red Card – to make it easier for qualified immigrants to move in,” says Kocher.
The Minister of Labor obviously still sees room for improvement in tax policy and its effects on working hours. “Many employees remain part-time because it doesn’t pay off at first glance, because taxation is high, because non-wage labor costs are high,” said Kocher.
