Labor shortage

Tourism: quotas for seasonal workers increased

Kocher and Kraus-Winkler in the press foyer on Wednesday

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

In order to meet the great demand for workers in tourism, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is increasing the quota for seasonal workers from outside the EU. Specifically, 200 new contingent jobs will be created in addition to the current 4295, as announced by Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. The responsible trade union was sharply critical, while the hoteliers' association was pleased.

Of the new quota places, 170 are expected to be allocated to Carinthia and a further 30 to Lower Austria. According to Kocher, the demand for the upcoming summer season is particularly high in these two federal states. By increasing the quotas, the government could help to ensure that tourism businesses have enough opportunities to find staff in the upcoming summer season, which is well booked.

Government sees "important step"
The number of additional places "may sound manageable", said State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler (ÖVP), but it is an important step for the two federal states. Carinthia currently has 292 contingent places, Lower Austria has 68, while Tyrol and Salzburg each have more than 1,200 places.

"Measure neither creative nor sustainable"
"This government measure is neither creative nor sustainable. Regularly increasing the quota of seasonal workers from abroad and ignoring working conditions in the process is something we firmly reject," criticized Berend Tusch from the responsible trade union vida.

The union is calling for working conditions in tourism to be made more attractive.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Those responsible should make professions in tourism more attractive instead of increasing seasonal worker quotas. "Decent wages and stable working conditions are needed, as well as measures to extend the season. This is the only way to keep workers from the respective region in the industry. There is a reason why tourism is an industry from which workers are fleeing," says Tusch.

On the other hand, the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) believes that increasing the quota is "the order of the day". "This is definitely a step in the right direction," explained its president, Walter Veit. However, "bigger steps" are needed, he referred to the 50,000 workers from the Western Balkans who will be filling vacancies in Germany from June.

Quotas exhausted last year
The quotas can be exceeded by 50 percent for seasonal peaks. The quotas were exhausted last year, including the overdraft limit. Kocher once again rejected calls for the seasonal quotas to be abolished. In principle, the current solution is a good one, he said, referring to the introduction of the regular seasonal regulation and the trend towards more year-round jobs. Last year, 1064 third-country nationals came to Austria for year-round jobs in tourism via the Red-White-Red Card, said the Minister of Economic Affairs.

At the end of April, around 10,000 vacancies in the tourism sector were registered with the Public Employment Service (AMS). At the same time, there was an employment record - around 195,000 people were employed in tourism at this time and therefore outside of the peak season. According to vida, there are enough job seekers in Austria and those who would like to return to the tourism industry.