In view of the demographic development and the increasing retirement age, the Chamber of Labor (AK) and the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) are demanding a package of measures to ensure that people over 60 remain employed longer. A central element is a bonus/malus system that should reward companies for employing older people and penalize them for refusal.

Share of total workforce at five percent

"30 percent of medium and larger companies with at least 20 employees, which is 7,400 companies, do not employ a single older person, neither man nor woman over 60," said the head of the social insurance department at the AK Vienna, Wolfgang Panhölzl, on Friday at a press conference in Vienna. According to AK and ÖGB, the share of 60 to 64-year-olds in the total workforce is currently only around five percent - with massive differences between industries and companies. "The challenge is to bring 100,000 employees in the 60 to 64 age group - which is about 700,000 people in the population - into employment in the coming years," said Panhölzl.

While in the construction or hospitality industry, hundreds of companies do not employ a single person over 60, there are also companies that employ an above-average number of older people. According to Panhölzl, this unequal distribution shows that structural measures are necessary to better utilize the existing potential.

Majority of 60 to 64-year-olds not employed

The average retirement age has increased since the year 2000 for men from 58.5 to 62.4 years, and for women from 56.8 to 60.4. According to AK, in 2024, only 22.8 percent of women in the age group of 60 to 64 were employed (76,000 out of 340,000) and 45.6 percent of men (around 150,000 out of 330,000). According to the government program, by 2030, an additional 100,000 people in this age group should be employed, which would correspond to a doubling of the older age group employment rate. However, this goal is far from being achieved.

The targeted equality in retirement age means that women will have to work longer in the future. However, age-appropriate workplaces are needed for this, emphasized ÖGB Federal Managing Director Helene Schuberth. In many industries, there are hardly any opportunities to switch from heavy to lighter tasks.

Not Only Bonus/Malus System Demanded

AK and ÖGB therefore demand, in addition to the bonus/malus system, among other things, a transparent monitoring of the older age group employment rates, targeted subsidies instead of flat-rate contribution reductions for companies, as well as legally anchored measures to prevent work-related illnesses. Companies that employ older workers should benefit financially - the others should be held accountable.

Furthermore, the employee representatives demand, among other things, an improvement in rehabilitation and prevention services, enforceable company agreements for the implementation of age-appropriate work, as well as measures for workplace health promotion, binding limits for moving heavy loads, and more qualification measures for the unemployed.

(APA/Red)

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