FPÖ - Belakowitsch/Kassegger: "Confirm millions of additional income for AK and WKO: compulsory membership must go!"

2023-08-15 13:01:14

Both chambers are “profiteers from inflation” at the expense of their forced contributors, who suffer from inflation and fear for their existence

Vienna (OTS) – “It cannot be that more and more people slide into poverty, companies fear for their existence and the chambers, as ‘beneficiaries’ of record inflation, are literally swimming in money at their expense,” said FPÖ deputy club chairman and social spokeswoman NAbg today . dr Dagmar Belakowitsch and the free business spokesman NAbg. dr Axel Kassegger sharply criticized after media reports that the income from the chamber allocations for the Economic Chamber should increase by around 60 million euros to 936 million euros and for the Chamber of Labor by around 54 million euros to almost 620 million euros.

“It is a fatal image of the red double standard: while the SPÖ at the federal level feigns the ‘great fighter against inflation’, the Chamber of Labour, which it dominates, benefits massively from the suffering of the inflation-plagued employees, who more and more often no longer know how to pay their bills should pay. In addition, the Chamber of Labor is said to have gambled away 5.4 million euros in contribution money, as it became known just a few weeks ago. All of this confirms for us liberals that compulsory membership should have been reconsidered long ago, because it leads to precisely such malversations. If good employee representation is provided, then employees also join voluntarily, pay membership fees and do not have to be forced to do so. At the same time, it would be high time that the Red top officials of the Chamber of Labor refrained from raising their salaries, especially in times like these!” said Belakovich.

For FPÖ business spokesman NAbg. dr Axel Kassegger has long since ceased to represent the interests of local businesses under the leadership of the Austrian People’s Party, but only makes lavish profits at the expense of their compulsory members. “It is high time to abolish compulsory membership and thus the compulsory chamber fee, as we Liberals have been demanding for a long time. Because professional and interest representation in the sense of our company is no longer to be found at the Chamber of Commerce. Rather, the entrepreneurs are also ridiculed when, just a few days ago, Head of the Chamber of Commerce and the Austrian People’s Party, member of the National Council, hypocritically criticized the anti-business policies of his own federal government, which he supports every day and which is leading to increasing insolvencies. The Chamber of Commerce must therefore, like every company, finally face up to the competition, because those who are convinced of their services are happy to be there and also pay the chamber levy!” explained Kassegger.