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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

Labour day: What to do on May 1st in Austria

The Day of Labour, or Tag der Arbeit, is a public holiday in Austria and a great opportunity to join a demonstration, a parade, or explore some of the other events taking place on this specific day. Here is what is going on and what will be closed.

Published: 30 April 2024 09:29 CEST
Updated: 1 May 2024 06:32 CEST
Labour day: What to do on May 1st in Austria
1st of May at Rathausplatz in Vienna. (SPÖ Presse und Kommunikation © Kurt Prinz)

The Day of Labour is a nationwide public holiday which celebrates and highlights the history of labour struggles and protests.

The movement for workers’ rights traces back to the US in the 19th century when conditions for factory workers were very poor and dangerous to their health. The poor conditions motivated the workers to gather and start fighting for improvement. This movement spread worldwide and reached Austria in 1886.

Nowadays, the 1st of May stands as a symbol of workers’ solidarity and serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for fair labour practices and social justice. It honours the achievements of workers and the labour movement.

Group of female workers. Photo by Austrian National Library on Unsplash

What is happening in Austria on this day? 

In Austria, most people do not have to go to work or school as this is a bank holiday. In Vienna, just like in many other Austrian cities and towns, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) arranged Labour Day rallies to celebrate the occasion. In the capital, they gather at the town hall, Rathausplatz, to celebrate the day and promote their agenda for workers’ rights and social justice through speeches, presentations, and debates.

In most cities and towns, parades, demonstrations, and various events are being organised. In Salzburg, a parade under the motto “We walk together for peace” takes place, starting at 12 am at Residenzplatz, accompanied by music from live singers. In Graz, SPÖ arranged a parade starting from their pavilion at 08:45 am, and ending at the city’s main square, Hauptplatz. In Innsbruck, the SPÖ organises a celebration event at Rapoldipark starting at 11 am.

In general, May 1st offers a great variety of activities, no matter where in Austria you are. If you feel more like spending time in nature, a wide range of group outdoor activities are offered in different regions. For example, in Klagenfurt, you can participate in a family cycling event in the countryside. And if you are in Vorarlberg and in the mood for a market, you can visit the handicraft market, called “Wälder Markt”, with over 70 exhibitors presenting their handicrafts in the municipality of Hittisau in Vorarlberg, where you can also enjoy some snacks and drinks.

Maypole traditions

In addition, the maypole (Maibaum in German) is celebrated in different villages, which is one of the most important traditions happening on this day—though not connected to Labour Day but to the general start of the month of May (and the start of a nicer weather season).

The maypole celebration is a long-standing Austrian tradition where the locals of a village raise a maypole on the village square on May 1st as a symbol of fertility.

Maypole climbing, stealing the maypole, dancing around the pole, or maypole parades with brass bands are common traditions in most regions of Austria. The Maypole celebration is a very popular traditional event which strengthens the community spirit. 

 
 
 
 
 
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READ ALSO: Which days off will workers in Austria get in 2024?

What will be closed?

Since May 1st is a public holiday in Austria, banks, post offices, supermarkets, and general medical practices will be closed. Most pharmacies will also be closed, except for those functioning as emergency pharmacies, which are scheduled to remain open during the holidays. In Austria, around 220 pharmacies function as “Notdienstapotheken” or emergency pharmacies. Find them listed here. 

Hospital emergency departments will remain open if you need medical care. Additionally, each region offers a holiday on-call service (Wochenend—und Feiertagsbereitschaftsdienst) if you prefer not to go to the hospital. You can call 141 for medical services during holidays, such as a doctor’s visit or to obtain certain medications.

Public Transport

On May 1st, public transport operates all over Austria, although sometimes with a reduced timetable, similar to that on Sundays.

In Vienna, trams, metros, and buses run with slightly reduced timetables. For information on the timetable for different lines, click here.

Mainline train services often run with a near-normal timetable during May 1st. You can check out the timetable for ÖBB here.

READ NEXT: Eleven unmissable events in Austria in May 2024

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For members

HEALTH

Patients in Vienna face long waits for specialist health appointments

Waiting times to get appointments with health specialists in Vienna have increased significantly, a new study has revealed.

Published: 17 May 2024 09:56 CEST
Patients in Vienna face long waits for specialist health appointments

Accessing essential healthcare within a reasonable timeframe is becoming increasingly difficult for Viennese residents.

The Vienna Medical Association presented their new study this week which shows that waiting times for appointments with health specialists have increased significantly in recent years.

The study, which involved contacting over 850 doctors’ practices via so-called “mystery calls,” revealed that child and adolescent psychiatry currently had the longest waiting times in the city.

Patients can expect to wait an average of 90 days for an appointment.

Other specialisations where patients have to wait long to receive help include radiology (57 days), neurology (45 days), ophthalmology (44 days), pulmonology (36 days), internal medicine (33 days), and dermatology (28 days).

The waiting time for seeing a gynaecologist has increased fourfold since 2012, with patients now waiting an average of 32 days.

READ MORE: Why are there fewer public sector doctors in Austria?

No new patients accepted

In certain specialist areas, there is no capacity to accommodate new patients. The situation where no new patients are accepted occurs particularly often in paediatric practices, where more than half of the public healthcare practices have put a freeze on admissions.

In child and adolescent psychiatry, 40 percent do not accept new patients, and among gynaecologists, it is almost a third (30 percent). Family doctors also struggle with welcoming new patients, and many of their practices have already reached full capacity.

The Medical Association calls for immediate action, urging the health insurance sector to become more attractive and receive better funding. This could involve measures to incentivise doctors to work within the public system, potentially reducing wait times and improving patient access to care.

During the study presentation, Johannes Steinhart, president of the association, described the increased waiting times as the result of neglect within the established health insurance sector. He said he believes that the public health system is massively endangered.

Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, chairwoman of the Curia of the resident doctors in the association, pointed out that while the population of the federal capital has grown by 16 percent since 2012, the number of public doctors has fallen by 12 percent in the same period.

The association now wants to make the public healthcare system more attractive to doctors, which could cut down waiting times and make it easier for patients to receive care. The association’s demands for this to happen include increasing flexibility in contract options, integrating health and social professions in individual practices, reducing bureaucracy, and improving fees.

ÖGK, Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, Austria’s largest public healthcare fund, is currently creating 100 additional public health positions, with almost two-thirds of the positions already having applicants, as well as planning for another 100 positions. They also aim to create a central telemedicine service and a platform for making appointments by phone and online, which is meant to reduce waiting times and improve access to care.

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