Vienna, October 2, 2023 (KAP) Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s criticism that women rarely work full-time continues to meet opposition from Caritas. Women often have to “pivot to get it all together”, explained the managing director of the Caritas “Magdas” hotel in Vienna, Gabriela Sonnleitner, in a double interview with the Minister of Labor, Martin Kocher, in the daily newspaper “Der Standard” ( Monday). The fact that Nehammer spoke of “us, the top performers” “hurts my heart when I see how many people work hard with us, in the kitchen, in the housework. I think they are the top performers,” Sonnleitner said. She believes more appreciation for this group of people is appropriate.
The challenges faced by women who work full time are sometimes enormous, said boss “Magdas”. “Extreme efforts” are often necessary “to ensure that all care comes to an end.” This is what employees experience in their own hotel. When the Chancellor claims that people no longer want to work, it devalues the reality of life for many and is “cynical”.
Labor Minister Kocher called for more differentiation. Anyone who wants to work more but currently cannot do so should have the opportunity to do so through expanded child care. There is also a need to discuss “the fact that not only are there more and more women, but also more and more men who work part-time because they can pay or because it is simply a new social evolution”, said the minister. . Ultimately, this reduces contributions to the social system, while the shortage of skilled workers continues to increase.
“Family work time” proposal
Sonnleitner suggested the “family work time” model to increase women’s employment. There are generally 60 hours, of which 40 hours are for men and 20 hours are for women. “Why not both 30 hours? I know there are many reasons against this, men earn more. But that’s the direction it should go”, said the general director.
Sonnleitner also called for greater attention to refugees. The hotel he runs, which is committed to integrating refugees into the job market, has no problems finding staff “because we look at people who forget or don’t even look at others”. It makes sense to “quickly decide who can stay” when applying for asylum and then quickly invest a lot of energy and money in people. “My observation is that people want to work, that they want to take care of themselves, that they don’t want to be a burden on anyone. We just have to make that possible,” said the social manager.
Minister Kocher agreed and promised the early start of an “intensive labor market integration program” together with the AMS. As soon as it becomes clear that people can stay, there must be “qualification measures, German courses and integration into the job market as quickly and in parallel as possible”. Existing pilot projects should be implemented even better.
The minister rejected the idea that the State – as Sonnleitner demanded – should be more generous in granting asylum if the teaching was correct. The red-white-red card was therefore reformed to allow people to come to Austria with a residence permit. “Now it turns out that those who have good training in a profession with shortages also receive this card.” However, incentives must be avoided for people to reach Austria via dangerous routes and with smugglers.