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POLITICS

Call for reform of Social Partnership

The chairman of the opposition liberal NEOS party, Matthias Strolz, has said he wants to reform the Austrian Social Partnership.

Call for reform of Social Partnership
Matthias Strolz. Photo: APA

Austria has a well-developed system of co-operation between the major economic interest groups and the government. Such co-operation was essential for the reconstruction of Austria after the Second World War and created the basis for economic growth and social stability.

Strolz told the APA press agency that he is proposing to abolish compulsory membership for employees in the workers' representation union Arbeiterkammer (AK), for entrepreneurs in the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ) and for farmers in the Chamber of Agriculture (LK).

This would mean that the chambers had less money to spend but were thus forced to initiate the necessary reforms, he said.

"One could do that step by step, we are not malicious revolutionaries," he said. Even if the chambers no longer had billions of euros, they would have another organisational form, he said.

Strolz also urged for an electoral law reform, including a shorter legislative term of four instead of five years. 137 out of 183 members of parliament should be directly elected, and the rest should be elected on the basis of proportional representation at federal level, he proposed.

Strolz, summarizing his proposals as "Austria 3.0", again called for the chancellor's role to be changed so that he could become more involved in the political process.

He also called for more civic involvement.

The NEOS scored a surprising success in Austria’s national elections in September last year, making it into parliament in their first try.

The newly-formed "pink party" which cooperated with the Liberal Forum (LIF) won 4.8 percent and nine seats in parliament. At the EU elections in May they came in fifth, with 7.9 percent and one mandate.

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MIGRANT CRISIS

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

The number of asylum applications has dropped in Austria, but changes in the profile of those arriving are creating new demands and new policies.

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

Asylum policy is a controversial topic in Austria, especially in an election year. The far-right has been pushing its anti-immigration agenda to gather support ahead of federal elections later this year.

While the sheer number of refugees can shape an election, differences in who those refugees are and where they come from also create challenges and demands for government action.

The profile of those seeking asylum in Austria has changed compared to recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost a third of asylum applications came from children between the ages of zero and seven, as Austrian media has reported.

Around 53 percent of applicants are minors, and the proportion of women seeking asylum has also risen significantly. However, the overall number of asylum applications during the period fell by 32 percent compared to the same period the year before. 

Whereas 2023 most asylum applications in Austria were from males (only around 24 percent of applications were submitted by women), the country is now experiencing the “family reunification” phenomenon. In other words the wifes and children are following to seek protection.

Asylum applicants are still mostly from Syria and Afghanistan – two nationalities with a high chance of obtaining protection in Austria. Only 30 percent of applications from Syrians were rejected, whereas for Afghans 39 percent were refused.

READ ALSO: Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

What does the change in profile mean for Austria?

One immediate consequence of the influx of children has already been seen in Vienna, the destination of most refugees: the school system is overwhelmed with the new arrivals, as several Austrian newspapers have reported in the last few weeks.

“This is putting such a strain on the system that high-quality teaching is hardly possible any more,” Thomas Krebs, a union representative, told Kurier. According to the report, around 300 children will arrive in Vienna every month, resulting in a need for 140 classes by the end of the school year. 

The Austrian capital was already overwhelmed by a shortage of teachers and an overflow of schoolchildren—particularly since the war in Ukraine, when 4,000 children were integrated into Vienna’s schools from February 2022.

The kids coming from Syria also need more support than merely German classes: “The Syrian children who come to us from refugee camps are a particular challenge for the system. Many are traumatised and often not even literate in their own language,” Krebs said.

He added that children need to spend more time in kindergarten—to learn “the basics, not just the language.” The education expert also believes it’s necessary to invest more in extracurricular activities, where young people can learn German, acquire behavioural skills that are important for school, and learn how to spend their free time meaningfully.

READ ALSO: What’s the reason behind the drop in Austrian asylum seeker claims?

What is Vienna doing?

Vienna’s Department of Education points out that new teachers are being recruited. In the current academic year, 2,400 teachers have been hired, Kurier reported.

Director of Education Heinrich Himmer said: “We support pupils and face the challenges together so that learning and living together work well. I would like to thank everyone who works so hard in Vienna’s schools. However, the responsibility for integration is an all-Austrian one, where solutions exist at the federal level.”

How does family reunification work?

There is a special process for granting family reunification rights for family members of refugees in Austria. 

According to information from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, if a foreigner has been granted asylum status in Austria, family members can apply for an entry permit at an Austrian representation authority abroad within three months of this status being granted.

If this is granted, they can travel to Austria to apply for asylum in the family procedure and receive the same protection status as the reference person. If the application is only submitted after three months, they must also provide proof of adequate accommodation, health insurance, and income.

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