SPÖ club follows up

Good Friday should be a public holiday for everyone in future

According to the SPÖ-Landtagsklub, Good Friday should be a national holiday.

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Burgenland's governor Hans Peter Doskozil dared to make a move on Sunday. Now his party is following suit. The SPÖ provincial parliamentary club is reiterating its call for Good Friday to be introduced as a public holiday for everyone.

"It is incomprehensible why the former ÖVP-FPÖ federal government under Sebastian Kurz and with Norbert Hofer simply abolished Good Friday as a public holiday for Protestants, Old Catholics and Methodists in 2019," said Social Democrat parliamentary group chairman Roland Fürst.

"Abolition inexplicable"
The abolition was triggered by the case of an employee who did not belong to any of the affected churches and sued for public holiday pay. At the beginning of 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Austrian regulation for Good Friday did not comply with the EU equal treatment directives. Since then, Good Friday can be celebrated as a personal holiday, but leave must be taken for it.

Good Friday as a public holiday has long been anchored in Burgenland's government program. Employees of the state therefore have the day off, which applies to everyone.

Roland Fürst, Klubobmann der SPÖ

A piece of identity
The demand for a return to a public holiday, addressed to the future federal government, will be submitted to the state parliament by the SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Burgenland) on November 14th. More than 30,000 Burgenlanders are committed to the Protestant community, the largest Protestant community with 3,300 members is Gols.

Mayor Kilian Brandstätter: "We support the petition for a referendum 'Good Friday holiday for all' and the current petition 100 percent. Good Friday is a day of reflection, tradition and faith. With its abolition, a piece of identity has been taken away from many people."