New Wage Law

Schumann Presses Ahead: Uproar Following “Krone” Report

Labor Minister Korinna Schumann single-handedly introduced the draft bill to implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive before the deadline.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com/Boris Zerwann, Eva Manhart, Krone KREATIV)

Labor Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) has brought the draft bill to implement the EU Wage Transparency Directive into the political coordination process despite unresolved disputes between the social partners— Krone+ reported first. It is not only the Economic Association that feels blindsided.

The criticism—already voiced in advance by coalition partners NEOS and ÖVP as well as the Greens—is directed at additional bureaucracy and burdens, as well as potential interference in the existing collective bargaining system. The social partners had also already expressed their displeasure.

Economic Federation: “Jeopardizes Social Partnership”
Now the Economic Association has joined the chorus. Schumann is acting unilaterally and thereby showing “little confidence in the negotiating skills of her own negotiators,” said Secretary General Tanja Graf. The minister is “deliberately accepting the failure of a joint solution” and “jeopardizing the very social partnership that has made Austria successful for decades,” just to push through an “ideology-driven position.”

Furthermore, additional requirements are unnecessary because Austria already has a high standard of protection thanks to its nationwide collective bargaining system. The EU directive to be implemented leaves room for national solutions, which is why Austria does not have to “play the model student once again.”

Chamber Warns of “Bureaucratic Monster”
Sharp criticism of the approach also came on Sunday from the Chamber of Commerce. Its Secretary General, Jochen Danninger, stated: “The EU Pay Transparency Directive threatens to become the next bureaucratic monster and thus harm Austria as a business location.” Therefore, it would have been “all the more important” to negotiate a sensible solution between employer and employee representatives, said the WKÖ Secretary General, who has “zero understanding” for Schumann’s approach. This approach disregards the concerns of the social partners and ignores the serious reservations of business owners.

IV: “Well-intentioned, poorly executed”
Georg Knill, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries, also criticized Schumann’s draft. Instead of improvements, he argued, it would bring “massive bureaucracy” through gold plating (i.e., overly strict interpretation of directives). “The opposite of ‘well-intentioned is poorly executed,’” Knill said on Sunday during the ORF program “Pressestunde.” Another flaw in the directive, he noted, is that it attempts to “lump all European countries together.” In Austria, for example, collective bargaining agreements already provide 98 percent coverage. The gender pay gap in this country is “continuously improving” anyway.

Greens: “Bickering at the expense of women”
Criticism also came again on Sunday from the Greens, specifically regarding the directive’s failure to be implemented to date. “The federal government has let the implementation deadline pass and is instead engaging in political squabbling at the expense of women,” criticized women’s spokesperson Meri Disoski. This, she said, is “delaying one of the most important gender equality measures of recent years.”

Support from the Chamber of Labor and the ÖGB
Support for the Social Democratic minister, however, came from the Chamber of Labor and the ÖGB. Chamber of Labor President Renate Anderl was pleased “that things are finally moving forward on wage transparency.” Women’s Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ) also supports the move: “This is good news for countless women in this country.”

Nachlese

Folgendes besagt die Umsetzung der Lohntransparenzrichtlinie:

• Das Gesetz soll Unternehmen mit mehr als 100 Beschäftigten zu regelmäßigen Entgeltberichten verpflichten. Im ersten Jahr sind keine Strafen vorgesehen, es wird eine Übergangsfrist geben.

• Künftig sollen Arbeitgeber Bewerber nicht mehr nach ihrem bisherigen Gehalt fragen dürfen und müssen in Stellenanzeigen konkrete Gehaltsangaben machen.

• Beschäftigte sollen Informationen über die Bezahlung vergleichbarer Tätigkeiten unkomplizierter erhalten, um ungerechtfertigte Lohnunterschiede sichtbar zu machen.

• Im Interview mit der „Krone“ hat Ministerin Schumann zu Protokoll gegeben, dass sie davon überzeugt sei, die „wenigen offenen Punkte“ lösen zu können. Dabei gehe es „unter anderem um Fragen der Umsetzung und um die Höhe möglicher Strafen“. Eine Klagsflut hält sie für unwahrscheinlich.

Schumann herself rejects the widespread criticism and emphasizes that Austria must implement this very EU directive to avoid infringement proceedings and potential fines.

:Not a “Rushed-Through Law”To critics who had described the law as a “rushed-through law,” she says: “After two and a half years of negotiations, you really can’t call this a rushed-through law. This is an EU directive that must be implemented.”

“A demand from many women and men”
“If Austria fails to meet this obligation, it faces infringement proceedings with potential fines—and I certainly don’t have the money in my department to cover these fines running into the millions,” she says. After all, she notes, “this is a demand from many women and also many men who want greater fairness.”