After the National Council last week, the… Federal Council At the last meeting of this year, we called for a zero wage round for politicians at the federal level. The decision in favor of a corresponding change to the Federal Pay Act was passed with a broad majority, without the votes of the FPÖ parliamentary group.
The state chamber also did not raise any objection to the 3.5% increase in public sector salaries for 2025. The NEOS mandates did not go along with this.
The Salzburg ÖVP Federal Councilor Andrea Eder-Gitschthaler will take over the chairmanship of the Federal Council at the beginning of 2025. At the end of the meeting, the two vice-presidents for the coming half-year were elected.
Majority in favor of salary increases for the public sector
With the 2. Service law novella 2024 It is ensured that the salaries of federal public employees will rise by an average of 3.5% in the coming year.
The Upper Austrian FPÖ mandate Günter Pröller pointed out that the increase in salaries in the public sector would burden the federal budget with around 620 million Ꞓ. But he also points out that the public service does essential work, which is why the FPÖ also agrees to the increase. Pröller used his speech to criticize the federal government, which was leaving behind a “pile of debt.” With the “coalition of losers” Austria is threatened with further relegation. Christoph Spanring (FPÖ/N) saw the salary agreement as moderate. He pointed out that it would remain below the inflation rate and would have a long-term effect on pension reductions.
Public sector employees definitely deserve a pay increase for the diverse services they provide, emphasized Andrea Eder-Gitschthaler (ÖVP/S). For 2026, the deal will be 0.3% above rolling inflation. The increase directly affects 250,000 federal employees and indirectly 300,000 state and local employees. Christoph Thoma (ÖVP/V) also believed that increasing salaries in the public sector was the right thing to do.
Manuela-Anna Sumah-Vospernik (NEOS/W) criticized the fact that the budget situation was worrying despite a high tax rate. The increase in salaries in the public sector without counter-financing will significantly limit the scope for the next federal government. Undoubtedly, the performance of the public service must be recognized. However, given the precarious budget situation, a lower degree would have made sense. The NEOS could therefore not agree.
Korinna Schumann (SPÖ/W) countered the previous speaker that a round of zero wages in the public sector, as the NEOS had called for, would not have been fair. With its services, the public service forms the basis for a functioning administration, for democracy and the rule of law. This must receive appropriate recognition. The public service is also an exemplary employer that evaluates the job and not the person. Accordingly, the income gap between men and women is significantly smaller than in the private sector.
Marco Schreuder (Greens/W) pointed out that the public sector is in competition with the private sector when it comes to finding well-qualified employees. A zero wage round would therefore “not have been right”.
Kogler sees the salary agreement as the right decision
Federal Minister Werner Kogler said that the old “distorted image of the comfortable civil servant” is now further removed from reality than ever. The public service has changed a lot for the better and is doing great things. He has to assert himself in competition with the private sector and urgently needs qualified employees. Given this situation, he believes the salary agreement is justified. He points out that the deal for the next two years only corresponds to a compensation for inflation. Despite difficult circumstances, the salary negotiations could have been concluded quickly, said Kogler, who was satisfied. He pointed out that a comprehensive salary reform had been fully developed and, in his view, should be implemented quickly.
The salaries of politicians at the federal level remain frozen
With a change to the Federal Remuneration Act It will be ensured that, in the coming year, the salaries of the Federal Chancellor, the ministers, the Federal President, the MPs and the members of the Federal Council, among others, will be frozen. The salaries of the President of the Court of Audit Margit Kraker and the three Ombudsmen will also not increase in 2025.
Andrea Eder-Gitschthaler (ÖVP/S) said that the zero wage round was justified given the difficult economic situation. However, it should not be forgotten that politicians also make important achievements that should be recognized.
Korinna Schumann (SPÖ/W) also agreed to the zero wage round. However, she considers it “astonishing” that the FPÖ in the federal states is not following its chairman’s call not to increase the salaries of politicians there either.
Kogler advocates a better division of responsibilities between the federal and state governments
Federal Minister Werner Kogler considered it fundamentally questionable to pursue a “race to the bottom” when it comes to politicians’ salaries. Regardless of this, he would have thought it would have made sense if the federal government had made corresponding requirements at the state level. The problem is that state policy does not follow the example of federal policy. Kogler saw this as an expression of a lack of political will to reform. A clearer and better distribution of competences between the federal and state governments would save a lot of administrative effort. That would also mean that the Federal Council would be upgraded. Regarding criticism of the federal government’s work and the budget situation, Kogler said that he generally believes that the tasks facing Austria are “manageable” if there is the appropriate willingness to reform.
Choice of features for the first half of 2025
At the end of its meeting, the Federal Council elected the two vice-presidents for the coming half-year. The Salzburg representative Michael Wanner (SPÖ) was appointed as first vice-president, and the Tyrolean Federal Councilor Markus Stotter (ÖVP) was appointed as second vice-president. In addition, the secretaries and stewards were elected for the first half of 2025. (Federal Council conclusion) sox
NOTE: Meetings of the National Council and the Federal Council can also be followed via live stream and are available as video-on-demand in the Parliament’s media library available.