Austria's Labour Minister Schumann Advances Pay‑Transparency Draft Amid Industry Pushback

Labour Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) forwarded a draft to implement the EU pay‑transparency directive. The proposal obliges companies with at least 100 employees to report gender‑segregated wage data – every three years for firms with 100‑249 staff and annually for those with 250 or more – and to disclose salary ranges in job ads while banning bans on discussing pay. Workers will also gain an individual right to request wage information. Administrative fines are envisaged to start after one year.

The draft has backing from the SPÖ, the Greens, trade unions and the Austrian Workers' Chamber, who argue it will help close the gender pay gap. Business representatives – the Austrian Economic Chamber, the Industriellenvereinigung and the ÖVP‑Wirtschaftsbund – criticize it as a “bureaucracy monster” that could harm Austria’s business climate. WKÖ General Secretary Jochen Danninger said, “The EU pay‑transparency directive threatens to become the next bureaucracy monster and harm Austria’s location.” SPÖ women’s spokeswoman Sabine Schatz welcomed the measure as a step toward fair pay.

The government had aimed to enact the rules on the Sunday after the draft’s submission, but the lack of a prior agreement with social partners has delayed implementation.