Austria - Labour market access




Most migrant entrepreneurs can start a business as long as they have a viable business plan. Other migrant workers, however, are not eligible for equal access to employment like EU nationals until they have worked legally for at least a year. Labour market integration measures are critically unfavourable in Austria, as in CZ, MT and PL (see box). Those who do get a job are secure in their status and have a range of rights as workers that meet best practice in Austria as in seven other MIPEX countries (see below).


Worst labour market integration measures of the 28
To get their qualifications recognised, migrants have to find their way through an extremely complicated bureaucratic web without any fair or transparent guidelines. Those wishing to upgrade their skills are blocked by higher fees and unequal access to vocational training and study grants. There are no specific national targets to reduce migrants' unemployment or promote their vocational training. For best practice, see Netherlands country profile.


Improvements to migrants' rights at work: now best practice.
Austria has moved up to best practice on MIPEX with the Act on the Chamber of Labour and the Act on Institutional Settings at the Workplace on 13 January 2006 after a decision by the European Court of Justice. Migrants can now be elected shop-stewards in companies and delegates in the Chamber of Labour (the body representing all private employees). They are also no longer excluded from other important functions in trade unions. Although the state has lifted the formal restrictions, so far few migrants are actually represented in the Chamber of Labour or trade unions since many unions lack a proactive outreach policy. 

Results by strand

Austria - Overview
Austria - Labour market access
Austria - Family reunion
Austria - Long-term residence
Austria - Political participation
Austria - Access to nationality
Austria - Anti-discrimination
Austria - Public perceptions
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