IV Pres. Knill in ORF "Press Hour": Get out of the crisis mode, focus on future issues

Shortage of labor as a key challenge in the coming years – Mercosur: export climate protection and enter into smart trading partnerships

Vienna (OTS) – “For Austria’s companies, the worsening shortage of workers and skilled workers is becoming a central challenge. The labor market has turned around – we currently have the lowest unemployment since 2008 and at the same time a record number of vacancies. That will be the main theme in the coming years,” says the President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), Georg Knill, in the ORF press hour on Sunday. “What we need now is an ideology-free and honest performance debate. We need incentives to keep people in employment beyond retirement age, and overtime and switching from part-time to full-time must become financially more attractive again,” emphasized Knill.

When asked about the current debate about part-time employment, he makes it clear: “The destructive reflex of saying no will not get us anywhere in the current debate. We must openly and honestly conduct a comprehensive discussion for a modern labor market. It’s not about putting part-time at a disadvantage, it’s about the fact that switching to full-time doesn’t pay off financially at the moment, but the companies need every helping hand. Incidentally, 83 percent of all jobs offered last year were full-time jobs – the companies offer a wide range here”. A sticking point for a higher full-time quota is also the availability of childcare options, which is also a key factor for women’s labor force participation. “We cannot do without the many well-trained and qualified women,” says Knill. Investments in high-quality early childhood education are an essential factor for the business location – every euro invested here in early childhood education comes back eightfold.

In addition to activating potential on the domestic labor market, qualified immigration is also a building block. Knill sees the increase in the number of red-white-red cards in the previous year as positive and emphasizes the need for active location marketing in countries where there is labor potential for Austria.

In addition to the tense situation on the labor market, the domestic industry continues to be concerned with the energy crisis and the effects of the attack on Ukraine. With regard to the filling level of the gas storage facilities in Austria, Knill warns against hasty conclusions: “We survived this end of winter well from the point of view of security of supply. As far as the coming winter 2023/24 is concerned, however, we should by no means feel safe”. For the time being, Austria cannot completely do without Russian gas. A boycott of Russian gas would still have “fatal consequences”. It is vital to focus now on diversifying energy sources and correcting past mistakes as soon as possible.

In retrospect, Knill assesses the rapid reaction and the measures taken by the Federal Government to cushion the economic consequences of the war as “fundamentally positive”. “The partly exorbitant rise in energy prices was and continues to be a burden for Austria as an industrial location. With the energy cost subsidy, it has at least been possible to cushion the effects on the companies,” says Knill. The volume of economic aid was high – also in view of a European subsidy race – but necessary. “Now it is important that we get out of crisis mode quickly and turn our attention to future issues again. We have to move away from the comprehensive insurance mentality towards more personal responsibility,” says Knill.

In this sense, too, the industry in Austria is working day by day on the energy transition and the green transformation. For the companies, this transformation is not only lived responsibility towards nature and people, but ultimately also logical and necessary from a business point of view. This strength is also a key for international trade partnerships, which are now urgently needed – “we don’t need a farewell to globalization now,” said Knill and continued: “In view of the current challenges in the European neighborhood and the geopolitical reorganization in the world now is the right time to forge new partnerships with friendly democracies. Here is an opportunity to combine two strengths of the Austrian economy: export and green tech – we export climate protection”.

One of these opportunities lies in the Mercosur region in South America, where a trade pact with Europe could actively contribute to protecting the rainforest. “The opportunities are within our grasp – if we don’t seize them, someone else will. The EU would now be the first trading partner to conclude an economic agreement with Mercosur countries,” emphasizes the IV President. “Anyone who shouts “No” loudly today should not be surprised tomorrow if Europe continues to lose importance and international connections”.

Austria’s success on international markets is closely linked to the country’s prosperity and creates well-paid and secure jobs. Austrian companies sell more than a third of the goods manufactured in the country abroad and every fourth tax euro depends on the export economy. “If we now manage to concentrate on our strengths in education, innovation and export, if we all continue to tackle things together and take our responsibility towards the environment and society seriously, I am confident that we will find the right solutions to the important issues of the future and take the right steps,” concludes Knill.

TV tip:
The ORF press hour with IV President Georg Knill can be found HERE