The so-called VIF conformity of the places in Vienna is by far the highest, and the lowest in Upper and Lower Austria. In order for parents to be able to work full-time, according to the Compatibility Indicator for Family and Work (VIF), facilities should be open for at least 45 hours a week, on weekdays from Monday to Friday and at least 9.5 hours on four of these days. They should be open for at least 47 weeks all year round, and the children must also be provided with lunch.
This is currently the case for around three quarters of the (very rarely used) places for under-one-year-olds, around two-thirds for one-year-olds, 54 percent for two-year-olds and around half for three-year-olds and above. Not much has happened recently. Compared to the previous year, the values have remained roughly the same – in some federal states such as Lower Austria, which is one of the laggards along with Upper Austria, the proportion of VIF-compliant places has even fallen recently.
Bottom lights: Upper and Lower Austria
Specifically, 91 percent of the places for three to five year olds in Vienna are VIF-compliant. In Burgenland it is 73 percent, in Salzburg 48 percent, in Styria 47 percent, in Tyrol 46 percent, in Vorarlberg 45 percent, in Carinthia 39 percent, in Upper Austria 28 percent and in Lower Austria 26 percent.
These numbers are fundamentally not new – they have already been reported in Statistics Austria’s day care home statistics. With the new monitoring, the data is displayed down to the district level as well as over time. In addition, the numbers are not only aggregated by age group, but also shown separately for each age, according to Family Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) and Statistics Austria General Director Tobias Thomas.
Salaries for staff increased
Raab referred to the 4.5 billion euros made available by the government by 2030 for the expansion or improvement of child care. In terms of competence, however, this is a matter for the state or municipality. A lot has happened here in recent years – as an example, she cited Upper Austria, which recently increased salaries for kindergarten staff.
However, many parents currently do not have any real freedom of choice as to whether they want to send their child to kindergarten or not, says Raab. “It’s not regarding every child having to go into care as quickly as possible. But parents should have the opportunity to fall back on this.” We now want to achieve this freedom of choice.
“Whether there is real freedom of choice depends crucially on whether institutions allow parents to work full-time,” said Thomas. In many cases, facilities fail to comply with VIF because they are closed too many days, says Raab. The federal states might start at this point.
First reactions
The union considers Raab’s plans to be “glossing over” the situation. “There is still a lack of an overall concept for children’s education that, on the one hand, relieves the burden on employees in kindergartens and following-school care centers and, on the other hand, gives women freedom of choice when it comes to balancing job and family,” said ÖGB Vice President Korinna Schumann in a press release. At the moment we are “closer to having to close kindergarten groups because there is a lack of staff rather than expanding children’s education.”
Like the SPÖ, the Frauenring and the SPÖ-affiliated children’s friends, the ÖGB demands a legal right to a kindergarten place from the first birthday. SPÖ family spokeswoman Petra Wimmer pointed out that in red-governed federal states the places are more compatible with the job.
The NEOS are calling for more speed in expanding and improving the quality of the places. “Better statistics alone do not necessarily increase the existing offering,” said education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre in a press release.
