In the last parliamentary session a few days before the
National Council election in October 2017, the
SPÖ,
FPÖ and Green Party decided on the
(allegedly) final equality of blue-collar and white-collar workers.
However, by no means does this result in general equal treatment of
employees.
Austrian labor law has always separated the workforce into
blue-collar workers and white-collar workers (salaried employees).
This distinction is particularly significant when it comes to the
question of which legal bases or collective bargaining agreements
are to be applied to a work relationship. The decision as to what
group a person falls into is based on the kind of work they
perform. A salaried employee is someone who performs commercial
services, high-level non-commercial services or clerical
activities. Everyone who is not considered a salaried employee is a
blue-collar worker. The legal amendment passed by the National
Council on 12 October 2017 is intended to eliminate
