Balance sheet of the experts

290,000 consultations and 79 million euros won

The Styrian Chamber of Labor took stock of the year 2023 on Thursday, setting a new record with 290,000 legal consultations and advice sessions. And an incredible 79 million euros were won for employees.

President Josef Pesserl and Director Johann Scheuch presented the impressive figures for the Styrian Chamber of Labor for the past year 2023 on Thursday. "Our experts were in greater demand than ever before last year," said Scheuch. A total of 290,000 legal consultations were provided. That's an average of around 1,200 consultations a day!

The amount of money that was won for the members is also impressive: 79 million euros. "These figures underline the indispensability of the AK for employees in order to maintain social peace," emphasized Pesserl.

Problems at work
In the area of labor law, 1038 lawsuits were filed by the AK last year, with 9.6 million euros being won. At 68 percent, the most frequent proceedings involved "current pay". The list of problem sectors is headed by the hospitality industry with 546 files, followed by trade (327) and transportation (256).

In the last five years, our experts at AK Steiermark have provided 1.5 million legal opinions and obtained 356 million euros for our members.

AK-Präsident Josef Pesserl

Fighting for pensions
Representation successes in social law rose to 40.4 million euros, with 36.7 million euros attributable to pension benefits and 2.1 million euros to contested care allowances. 2811 lawsuits were filed in these areas.

Help with insolvencies
2,400 employees affected by company insolvencies received a total of 18.4 million euros from the insolvency compensation fund.

Exploding housing costs
A total of 1.1 million euros was won in the area of consumer protection in 2023. However, the focus was on advice. Due to the rise in rents and higher energy costs, the number of inquiries in the area of housing exploded to 16,450. This was followed by shopping (5419) and financial services (3788).

Record for tax savings
The AK experts provided 33,100 enquiries on the subject of tax savings. The total of 9.5 million euros saved for members represents a new record!

In conclusion, President Josef Pesserl said: "In the last five years, our experts at AK Steiermark have provided 1.5 million pieces of legal information and saved a total of 356 million euros for our members. These figures impressively demonstrate the importance of the AK for society."