Austria: new “black book” of infringements to labor law sparks off controversy

In its 2010 “black book” of labor law infringements, the Chamber of Labor of Upper Austria shows that, in 2010 alone, its labor law experts gave nearly 235,000 legal advice interviews.  The AK also stepped in to support the legal representation of 18,500 employees.  Thus, it helped them get compensation – up to €107M.  In the first half of the document, published twice a year since 2006, the AK gives a list of the 10 businesses that gave the most work to labor law specialists over the last three years.  In the second half, it presents a series of case studies, the most extreme and/or most representative.  “Never before have employees appealed to the Chamber of Labor this extensively.  During the economic crisis, businesses have toughened their methods” point out Johann Kalliauer and Josef Peischer, respectively president and director of AK, adding that a majority of infringements and disputes concern wages and contractual relations between employers and employees.  Infringements can mostly be found in the temporary work industry, in transportation catering, construction and industrial cleaning.  According to AK, the businesses named in the Black book aren’t guilty of minor, occasional offenses but of “systematic infringements” to labor law.  Finally, the AK points out that the publication of this black book already helped improve collective agreements in industrial cleaning.  However, the Economic Chamber of Upper Austria violently reacted to this publication, saying that it is a “slanderous campaign” where Austrian businesses are “dragged through the mud” because of the inevitable minority of black sheep.