General Assembly

Health, work, housing: AK calls for measures

Chamber of Labor President Andreas Stangl railed against the government.

(Bild: Florian Stoellinger)

At the General Assembly of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor, President Andreas Stangl spoke clearly about the current situation in labor market policy, housing creation and the healthcare system. Stangl emphasized the importance of a stable labor market policy as the basis for the welfare state.

"In order to stem rising unemployment, we need a well-funded AMS. However, the federal government is cutting the budget, which is particularly detrimental to young, older and health-impaired jobseekers," criticized Chamber of Labour President Andreas Stangl. He also calls for targeted labor market measures such as short-time work and the abolition of labor market checks by the AMS.

The housing market also came under sharp scrutiny. According to Stangl, a vacancy tax could promote the rental of vacant apartments and increase the supply of affordable housing. "The federal government has opened up the possibility of a vacancy tax to the federal states, but Upper Austria is hesitating," criticized the AK President. According to him, an increased availability of apartments would curb prices and thus help people who urgently need affordable housing.

"Healthcare system on the brink of collapse"
Another focus of the speech was the healthcare system, which Stangl said was on the verge of collapse. "The much-vaunted patient billion was just a marketing stunt. Two-tier medicine is on the rise and access to healthcare is becoming increasingly dependent on income," he warned.

A survey commissioned by the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor confirms that only 47 percent of respondents still rate the healthcare system positively. Chronically ill people in particular are dissatisfied with the long waiting times for specialist appointments and operations. Stangl is therefore calling for comprehensive measures to ensure healthcare for all insured persons.

The AK President was particularly concerned about developments in the area of care allowance recognition. He described a case in which a mother initially had the care classification of her disabled child downgraded before the AK successfully fought for an increase to care level 5. "Such cases show that the system urgently needs to be scrutinized. Such injustices must not be the rule," explained Stangl.