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22 February, 2000The IMF-affiliated GMBE details its criticism of the new federal coalition which includes a far-right party.
AUSTRIA: The IMF-affiliated metal, mine and energy workers' union, the GMBE, has officially made known its strong disapproval of the policies of Austria's new federal coalition government, which includes Jörg Haider's extreme-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ).
The union declared in a statement released late last week that their protest "does not only include a rejection of planned measures in the coalition pact." They are also highly critical of the political climate encouraged by the FPÖ, which tries to "stir up fears, intolerance and xenophobia with its rhetoric, thus playing off different groups in society against each other."
As an organisation representing the interests of workers, the GMBE says that it will judge the government, regardless of the party which makes it up, "by its actions for the benefit of the workers in this country." However, based on the present government's programme, which places enormous, unilateral burdens on the workers, youth, the unemployed, sick and the retired, the union will massively oppose it.
The union is also strongly critical of government plans to increase the retirement age and make substantial cuts in pensions for early retirees. This will result in a huge income loss for older people who must take early retirement due to unemployment and invalidity. State-supported employment programmes will be frozen, with savings going to business and farmers in the form of tax benefits, and nothing is foreseen for improved training and retraining aimed particularly at protecting workers in a globalised economy.
Although the GMBE understands the extreme concern of countries around the world to the FPÖ's participation in the new coalition government, the union states that "we can't agree with the condemnation of all Austrians globally as 'Nazi people'." Over 70% of the electorate did not vote for the FPÖ, and boycott actions against Austria, says the union, would only serve to "hit the wrong people, that is the workers."
The union declared in a statement released late last week that their protest "does not only include a rejection of planned measures in the coalition pact." They are also highly critical of the political climate encouraged by the FPÖ, which tries to "stir up fears, intolerance and xenophobia with its rhetoric, thus playing off different groups in society against each other."
As an organisation representing the interests of workers, the GMBE says that it will judge the government, regardless of the party which makes it up, "by its actions for the benefit of the workers in this country." However, based on the present government's programme, which places enormous, unilateral burdens on the workers, youth, the unemployed, sick and the retired, the union will massively oppose it.
The union is also strongly critical of government plans to increase the retirement age and make substantial cuts in pensions for early retirees. This will result in a huge income loss for older people who must take early retirement due to unemployment and invalidity. State-supported employment programmes will be frozen, with savings going to business and farmers in the form of tax benefits, and nothing is foreseen for improved training and retraining aimed particularly at protecting workers in a globalised economy.
Although the GMBE understands the extreme concern of countries around the world to the FPÖ's participation in the new coalition government, the union states that "we can't agree with the condemnation of all Austrians globally as 'Nazi people'." Over 70% of the electorate did not vote for the FPÖ, and boycott actions against Austria, says the union, would only serve to "hit the wrong people, that is the workers."