"Suspend levies"

Big pay rise at the WKÖ: first call for a boycott

Stephan Zöchling is an industrialist, his company generates an annual turnover of over 200 million euros.(Bild: Fotocredit © Gerry Frank Photography 2024)

There is rumbling in the Chamber of Commerce following the announcement that salaries will be increased by a whopping 4.2 percent. Meanwhile, the situation is very serious in many companies. The industrialist Stephan Zöchling now no longer wants to pay the chamber's levy and is calling for a boycott. The WKÖ apparently has "too much money at its disposal".

"Even the metalworkers' union has understood that there can be no 'business as usual' in view of the situation - the WKO obviously hasn't," says the entrepreneur, whose Upper Austrian exhaust manufacturer Remus generates annual sales of over 200 million euros.

"If the Chamber can afford such an increase, then it obviously has too much money at its disposal, but zero awareness of savings." Many companies, on the other hand, are under pressure due to competitiveness problems.

If you can afford such an increase in the Chamber, then you obviously have too much money at your disposal.

Stephan Zöchling, Remus-Chef

Bild: Gerry Frank

Stephan Zöchling is an industrialist whose company has an annual turnover of over 200 million euros.(Bild: Fotocredit © Gerry Frank Photography 2024)

Zöchling calls for a freeze on contributions
The industrialist is therefore calling for "Chamber levies 1 and 2 to be suspended for the coming months." His company will do the same. 100 companies should follow suit, says Zöchling. The chamber has lost sight of its mission and should now feel the effects.

In Austria, there is a mandatory chamber levy that every company has to pay, which is how the Chamber of Commerce finances itself. The levy is very high by international standards.

Zöchling is not the only one who does not understand the increase. There is rumbling within the chamber and especially among the member companies. The top management around Harald Mahrer is under pressure.

"Completely wrong signal"
The explanation is a fixed calculation formula that is based on the previous year's collective wage agreements; in some years, the agreement was also lower than the other sectors. Nevertheless, the timing is unfavorable, Zöchling sees a "completely wrong sign".