“The Debate on Wage Transparency: Pros and Cons from Lower Austrian Labor and Commerce Chambers”

Pro: Birgit Schön, head of the women’s policy department at the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labour

In Austria, the principle of “equal pay for work of equal value” has been regulated in the Equal Treatment Act since the 1970s. In Austria, companies with more than 150 employees have to submit an income report every two years. However, this is relatively toothless in its current form. The Chamber of Labor is therefore demanding, in addition to extending the obligation to submit an income report, a more differentiated presentation of the income components, mandatory publication and sanctions if the income report is not submitted.

At the European level, the directive on wage transparency is currently with the European Parliament, which is taking up these demands. Income and income structures must be made transparent, because only those who know what the colleague earns can point out possible unequal treatment. In addition to the unequal treatment within the company, the high part-time quota of women, mostly due to the lack of free child education and childcare facilities, and the low wage levels in sectors dominated by women such as trade, care and services also contribute to the widening of the wage gap.

Against: Martin Egger, head of the social and financial policy department at the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce

In Austria there have been regulations on salary transparency since 2011, which are balanced and comply with the requirement of data protection and the Austrian mentality. There is no tradition of disclosing one’s income in this country and, according to surveys, the vast majority of Austrian employees are against it.

Furthermore, the assumption of an unequal income in Austria per se is not tenable. On the one hand, the salary tables in the collective agreements do not differentiate according to gender, on the other hand, unfortunately, statistics often compare apples with oranges. They do not factor out factors such as age, education, work experience or sectors. The more relevant factors are taken into account, the smaller the income difference becomes.

But it is also a fact that women work disproportionately in low-income sectors. However, wanting to punish entrepreneurs now is the wrong approach. It is about making better use of other levers in order to further increase equal opportunities on the labor market: the expansion of nationwide free childcare options for employees, more full-time instead of part-time work, more training for women in MINT (mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology) professions . These are the issues that lead to long-term success.