"Is subjugation"

FPÖ rails against “values course” for after-school care workers

Intercultural training is intended to sensitize the 15 or so after-school caregivers in Amstetten (symbolic image).(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT / APA / picturedesk.com)

Because childcare workers in Amstetten are required to attend further training courses on the practices of other cultures, the Freedom Party is furious: "This is subjugation!" The ÖVP, meanwhile, sees a scandal.

The compulsory training program for leisure and childcare workers at the adult education center in Amstetten is currently causing a stir among the FPÖ. This is because the content of the four-day workshop is somewhat controversial from the Blue Party's point of view. Under the motto "Shaping diversity: Understanding cultures, resolving conflicts", the aim is to promote constructive communication and respectful coexistence across all religious boundaries.

Compulsory course for after-school care staff
In addition to practical tips, the mandatory training courses also teach cultural backgrounds that have shaped the behavior of children, parents and colleagues, as well as how to deal with racism and discrimination. For FPÖ district chairman Alexander Schnabel, this is completely the wrong approach. "Everyone has to adapt to our customs and traditions and not the other way around," criticizes the Freedom Party member.

The city government wants to subordinate teachers to foreign cultures. That is doomed to failure. Integration through assimilation would be the right approach here.

FPÖ-Bezirksobmann von Amstetten Alexander Schnabel

The ÖVP, on the other hand, cannot understand the uproar. In the past, there have always been compulsory further training courses for after-school care staff. Because there have recently been problems in dealing with children from other cultural backgrounds, a package has been put together that also includes topics such as religion and racism.

Just one of many offers
"Unfortunately, the FPÖ is turning the VHS course into a political scandal. It is just one of hundreds of further education courses on offer," says ÖVP parliamentary group leader Manuel Scherscher. On the other hand, he tells Blauer Schnabel: "Anyone who has genuine concerns is welcome to raise them in the next committee. But he's just not interested."