Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0022/00228.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 27KB | 444 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00228}
$Pretitle{376}
$Title{Austria
Chapter 4B.   Living Conditions}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Susan H. Scurlock}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{percent
housing
austria
austrian
vienna
workers
dwellings
earnings
austrians
insurance}
$Date{1976}
$Log{New Danube*0022801.scf
Table 4.*0022801.tab
}
Country:     Austria
Book:        Austria, A Country Study
Author:      Susan H. Scurlock
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1976

Chapter 4B.   Living Conditions

[See New Danube: Recreational area in Vienna. Courtesy Embassy of Austria,
Washington DC.]

     In the years before World War I, agriculture and forestry provided the
livelihood for most of the people in the territory that is now Austria. The
capital city was supported by goods from all over the empire. When this empire
was dissolved and the Allied powers insisted that Austria be an independent
nation, economic self-sufficiency seemed impossible. The country did not seem
to have the agricultural or industrial capacity to support itself. During the
interwar years, though retarded by the inability of the two major political
parties to cooperate effectively and later by the depression, progress was
made in improving agricultural production, in developing natural resources and
industry, and in stimulating tourism.

     During the years of Anschluss and the ensuing world war, some German
capital was devoted to developing industry in the western sections of Austria.
Agriculture, however, was neglected. The war left many parts of Austria,
especially Vienna, badly devastated, and great numbers of refugees created a
further strain on housing and food supplies. The critical shortage of food,
shelter, fuel, and other necessities left hundreds of thousands of people
hungry and homeless. The situation was so desperate that in Vienna in 1945
rations fell to an average of only 1,220 calories per person per day. The
infant mortality rate and the incidence of tuberculosis, as well as the
suicide rate, went up.

     A large-scale relief effort was joined by numerous international charity
organizations. Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries,
and particularly the United States were represented by such organizations as
the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE), the International Red
Cross, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the American Friends
Service Committee. In 1946 the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration (UNRRA) was able to step in to provide food and agricultural
supplies. During the next year Austria received over US $100 million in aid
from the United States alone. The crisis situation persisted in Vienna for
several years after the war ended and left a bitter impression on the part of
the population old enough to remember it.

     It was ultimately the Austrian government's decision to accept aid under
the European Recovery Program (ERP-known as the Marshall Plan) that set the
country on its feet. Large amounts of capital and organizational skill were
infused into industry and agriculture to stimulate production. Most of the
benefits of Marshall Plan aid, however, were used in the American, French, and
British zones of occupation. Considerable improvements were made there, and
opportunities opened up. In the Soviet sector the situation was the opposite.
The Soviets dismantled factories, confiscated businesses, and appropriated the
oil fields and many industries for their own use. Trade and travel routes were
cut off or seriously restricted, forcing the partial isolation of Vienna and
contributing to the city's decline. It was not until 1955 that the Soviet
Union agreed to vacate Austrian territory. As a condition of departure it
demanded reparation payments and annual allotments of Austrian oil for ten
years.

     After the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955 and the subsequent
withdrawal of all foreign troops from Austrian soil, the groundwork had been
laid for an economic upsurge that lasted well into the 1960s. Probably the
most striking change in Austria has been the drop in the number of people
employed in agriculture. In some areas the drop was 50 percent between 1934
and 1970. In the early 1950s the shortage of manpower in rural areas was a
serious problem. Mechanization and modernization had not advanced production
sufficiently to make up for the loss of workers. The government took such
steps as providing housing and supplementing income to encourage war refugees
to become agricultural workers.

Labor Conditions and Social Welfare

     Austria has a comprehensive scheme of labor legislation and social
insurance. Both workers and self-employed persons, including foreign workers,
are covered by retirement plans, disability, sickness and maternity benefits,
unemployment insurance, and family allowances. As early as the 1880s the first
laws were passed to regulate working conditions and to provide insurance
against accidents and illness for some industrial workers. By 1910 old-age
pensions for salaried employees were introduced. After 1918, at the insistence
of the Socialist Party, the Ministry of Social Services was set up, and great
strides were made in social legislation. Unemployment insurance, the
eight-hour day, paid holidays, and child labor laws were introduced at that
time. These measures were suspended during the German occupation when the
German system was adopted. After the war the Austrian system was gradually
reintroduced and modernized. All features have been almost constantly revised
to meet new situations, and all pension and insurance benefits are adjusted
annually to conform with changes in the national average earnings.

     Labor legislation has been devised with a goal of maximum communication
and cooperation between employees and employers. Both groups have their own
special-interest associations and unions, which work with the government and
each other. Although there have been strikes, they have usually been settled
quickly. In general, the established arbitration mechanisms have been able to
reach agreements without work stoppage.

     As the system had developed by the early 1970s, a worker being hired
entered into a written contract with the employer, which guaranteed the
conditions of employment and outlined the responsibilities of both parties to
each other. Businesses with more than five employees are required to have an
employee representative on decisionmaking boards. If there are more than
twenty employees, a workers' council must be appointed. These councils oversee
working conditions and personnel policy and have a voice in the management of
the business.

     Workers in each province are represented by the Chamber of Labor. These
chambers were founded after World War I to protect and further the interests
of Austrian workers. Membership in these organizations continues to be
compulsory for all employed persons. The chambers are concerned with prices,
public health, housing, and adult education in addition to labor conditions.

     The Austrian Trade Union Federation is the strongest voice for the
worker. It decides the general policy for the sixteen independent labor unions
whose membership is drawn from specialized trades, such as the Union of Metal
and Mine Workers, the Union of White-Collar Workers, and the Union of Textile,
Clothing, and Leatherworkers. Two-thirds of Austrian workers belonged to a
labor union in 1975.

     Representing the employers is the Federal Economic Chamber, organized in
nine regional (provincial) offices and one at the federal level, which is
located in the capital. Voluntary associations include the Organization of
Austrian Banks, the Peasants' League, and the Association of Austrian
Industrialists.

     The Ministry for Social Administration supervises the social security
system. Social insurance is provided by various institutes or funds that are
self-administered but regulated by law and the ministry. Different categories
of workers and diffe