VIENNA. In his “Austria Plan” in January this year, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (VP) spoke of a parental leave model based on the Hungarian model, in which grandparents would be involved. On Sunday, Family Minister Susanne Raab and Senior Citizens’ Association President Ingrid Korosec (both VP) presented the key points for this.
According to the plan, grandparents, whether retired or still working, should be able to take this leave. According to Raab, the financial support for this should be “similar to the childcare allowance at the same level”. Depending on the model, this is currently between 16.87 euros and 39.33 euros per day. There should be an option for working grandparents to take time off work, provided that they look after the grandchildren instead of the parents because the parents are employed. As a model example, Raab and Korosec cited a mother and a father who each take six months of leave. The grandparents would take the remaining twelve months. Raab sees this as “a milestone for the family’s freedom of choice”.
The Greens reject the proposal. “It cannot be that the responsibility is shifted from the mother to the grandmother,” says family spokeswoman Barbara Neßler.
