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12 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 07/2003
A second round of industrial actions organised by the Federation of Austrian Trade Unions (ÖGB) was held 13 May to protest the ruling conservative-far-right coalition government's regressive pension reform plan. The 13 May labour actions and strikes, joined by the ICEM affiliate Austrian Metal and Textile Workers' Union, come one week after initial actions by workers were held to protest the government's refusal to get consensus from social partners over pension changes.
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel introduced the draft law 29 April that would raise Austria's retirement age and decrease pay-outs. Representatives from the ÖGB and employers group then met proposing a delay in any reform until late September in order to submit suggestions to the draft law by the social partners, as is customary in Austrian lawmaking. Schuessel has refused, and his aim is to bring the measure to Parliament in early June.
Pension reform as proposed would prolong the period of contributions from 40 to 45 years, as well as change the way in which pay-outs are calculated by taking an average of contributions over 40 years rather than the 15 most recent or most advantageous years. The government's reform would phase out early retirement, abolishing it altogether by year 2008. It proposes retirement age be raised to 65 years, whereas most Austrian men now retire at age 59 and women at 57.
Metal and Textile Workers' Union President Rudolf Nürnberger commented on the government's plan: "For they know not what they do. A man who works one year longer, so pays longer into the system, still gets less pension. This reform punishes those who have worked over their whole lives." Nürnberger addressed over 5,000 workers, mostly employees of Siemens and Henkel, at a rally on 6 May in Vienna.
The Metal and Textile Union conducted some 307 different actions across Austria on that day that included 57,500 workers. In all, Austria's labour unions informed some 120,000 workers of the planned degradations to then pensions in workshop meetings leading up to the 6 May and 13 May job actions.
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel introduced the draft law 29 April that would raise Austria's retirement age and decrease pay-outs. Representatives from the ÖGB and employers group then met proposing a delay in any reform until late September in order to submit suggestions to the draft law by the social partners, as is customary in Austrian lawmaking. Schuessel has refused, and his aim is to bring the measure to Parliament in early June.
Pension reform as proposed would prolong the period of contributions from 40 to 45 years, as well as change the way in which pay-outs are calculated by taking an average of contributions over 40 years rather than the 15 most recent or most advantageous years. The government's reform would phase out early retirement, abolishing it altogether by year 2008. It proposes retirement age be raised to 65 years, whereas most Austrian men now retire at age 59 and women at 57.
Metal and Textile Workers' Union President Rudolf Nürnberger commented on the government's plan: "For they know not what they do. A man who works one year longer, so pays longer into the system, still gets less pension. This reform punishes those who have worked over their whole lives." Nürnberger addressed over 5,000 workers, mostly employees of Siemens and Henkel, at a rally on 6 May in Vienna.
The Metal and Textile Union conducted some 307 different actions across Austria on that day that included 57,500 workers. In all, Austria's labour unions informed some 120,000 workers of the planned degradations to then pensions in workshop meetings leading up to the 6 May and 13 May job actions.