Politics and young talent

Parental leave regulation for mayors before resolution

Symbolic image

(Bild: Huber Patrick)

Next week, on September 17, the Styrian state parliament will pass a new parental leave regulation for mayors and municipal councillors. They will soon be able to go on maternity leave for up to one year - in some cases, they will also continue to receive 50% of their salary.

The amendment to the law is intended to "make the tasks of a public mandate and the function of mayor more compatible with family life (...) than before", according to the motion tabled by the SPÖ and ÖVP in the Petitions Committee; we reported. Specifically, it is possible to take up to one year's parental leave to care for a child up to the age of three or a person in need of care.

Local councillors miss out financially
This applies to local councillors as well as mayors. However, while there is no financial compensation for local councillors, mayors are to continue to receive 50 percent of their salary if they relinquish their office for longer than three months. The amount of remuneration varies depending on the size of the municipality: for 1500 inhabitants, the head of the municipality receives 5175 euros gross per month, for 12,000 it is 9,700 (for full-time office).

In both cases, a substitute member of the municipal council is appointed for the period of absence or another mayor is elected. In fact, there have only been two cases in Austria where a mayor has become a mother during her term of office.

KPÖ wants the same regulation for district heads
The KPÖ has announced that it will table a motion for a resolution in the provincial parliament to ensure that the same regulation that applies to municipal councillors also applies to district heads. This was also noted in the unanimously approved petition from the Graz municipal council to the state, which brought the issue to the table in the first place.

"For us, freedom of choice is paramount, and this requires the right, modernized framework conditions. It was important to us to create a parental leave regulation for mayors that guarantees social security," said ÖVP Governor Christopher Drexler and SPÖ Deputy Governor Anton Lang.