WKO salary whirlwind

Compensation for functionaries will not be increased after all

The turmoil surrounding the fees in the WKO cost Harald Mahrer his job.(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Following the resignation of WKO boss Harald Mahrer, the interim successor is turning her attention to the fuss over the salaries of functionaries. As was announced on Tuesday, the increase in compensation for top officials, which was only decided in June, will be suspended.

The Executive Vice President and designated successor to Mahrer, Martha Schultz, took this step together with the provincial chambers, according to a press release. Objectivity should return to the discussion about future reforms within the Chamber of Commerce.

Should set the course for reforms at the WKO: Martha Schultz(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

"The professional organizations are strongly recommended ..."
With the temporary suspension, the WKO is following the example of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, which was the first to take this step itself. According to Schultz, the suspension is "until the external review has been completed" - possibly by the Court of Auditors.

"All provincial chambers will take the same step," the WKO announced. The 693 independent professional organizations "are strongly recommended to follow this procedure". Schultz emphasized: "Now is the time to send a clear signal to our members and to the public. In order to pave the way for reform, we need to move away from an emotional level towards a factual and future-oriented dialog."

The increases in compensation for members of the Executive Board of the Federal Economic Chamber and all nine provincial chambers of commerce, some of which were perceived as exorbitant, as well as the communication surrounding the increase in wages and salaries for normal chamber employees and his own multiple payments had cost Mahrer his position as head of the Chamber of Commerce and the important ÖVP sub-organization Wirtschaftsbund. Schultz officially succeeds Mahrer as interim head of the Economic Chamber and the Economic Association at the end of November.