Further working time flexibility in commerce back on agenda

Increasing pressure for further liberalisation of opening hours and working time in the commerce sector, primarily concerning Sunday working, has again placed working time flexibility on the agenda of the Austrian social partners in autumn 1999.

Until now, the Austrian social partners have taken a rather critical stance towards the liberalisation of Sunday work, especially in retail. However, while the Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB) maintains its negative attitude, on the employers' side the position of the commerce section within the Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) is moving.

Following the 1997 amendment to the law on working time, which provides that collective agreements may allow Sunday work if this is regarded necessary to promote employment (AT9712151F), Sunday work has remained a dominant issue in the debate over liberalisation of working/opening hours (AT9811111N). Work on Sundays is in principle prohibited in commerce, though with some exceptions, such as shops in tourist areas or hospitals, railway stations and airports. Exceptions are also granted for key necessities and economic or technical reasons by the Ministry of Labour, Social and Health Affairs or by the heads of provincial governments.

The commerce section of WKÖ has long been a strict critic of further extension of shop opening hours. A high-ranking representative of commerce employers claims that no additional profits are expected from longer business hours, and therefore companies are not able to meet union demands for extra payments for staff working during extended hours. However, in October 1999, he argued for the first time in favour of allowing Sunday opening during the Advent period before Christmas. Support came from the Wirtschaftsbund, the business organisation affiliated to the conservative People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP). Despite the negative attitude of small retailers, which anticipate one-sided gains for large retail companies, the Wirtschaftsbund suggested that businesses should be authorised to open on Sundays during Advent, on an experimental basis. Shopping behaviour, distribution flows and the reactions of retailers should be analysed during this period. In this context, WKÖ is going even further by demanding the abolition of bonuses and the introduction of a more flexible distribution of working hours in connection with the abolition of general overtime payments for Sunday work. Consequently, Sundays would become ordinary working days. Meanwhile, the two leading retail companies in Austria have reacted positively to the WKÖ proposal. They do not generally support Sunday work, but have shown their interest in longer opening hours for purposes of Christmas shopping.

ÖGB categorically rejects the WKÖ proposals and stresses the fact that existing working time regulations during weekdays are not fully utilised by most companies. Therefore, union representatives do not see any economic reason for further extension of opening hours. Instead, ÖGB suggests a reduction of weekly working time to 35 hours with full pay compensation, which stands in stark contrast to employers' proposals. These contradictory positions may well complicate current collective bargaining.