Vienna missed the 7 June 2026 deadline without passing legislation to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive. However, Labour Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) caught everyone off guard by submitting a last-minute draft bill drawn up solely by her ministry. Despite criticism over both the method and content, the governing coalition now has a baseline for negotiations, meaning transposition in 2026 remains possible.
On the eve of the European deadline, Austrian Labour Minister Schumann presented a draft bill to the government to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive. The Social Democrat chose a highly unusual path for Austria—where “social partnership” governs the world of work—by negotiating neither with social partners nor with her political partners, the Conservatives (ÖVP) and Liberals (NEOS).
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Article authors
Thomas Schnee
Correspondent in Germany
As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.