On 03 July, and despite expected and habitual waves of opposition including a final major demonstration held in Vienna that involved thousands of protestors, Austria's parliament has finally adopted the highly controversial law on working time, coined the '12 hour law'. From 01 September 2018, maximum working time in Austria's economy will be 12 hours per day and 60 hours per week. Employee representation bodies did not really have an opportunity to voice their opinion, however employees will be able to refuse these new arrangements, albeit 'at their peril, believes the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB).
Complete and total disagreement. So what does Austria’s the new working time legislation entail? For a segment of the opposition and for the trade unions, the legislative amendments introduced by the new conservative (ÖVP) and extreme-right (FPÖ) majority coalition government are putting workers at the mercy of employers which should result in deregulation that leaves employees poorer and more stressed.
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