Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) - Austria (Ratification: 1987)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report for the period ending in May 2009, received on 27 August 2009, and containing replies to its previous comments. It also notes the written statement by AK Bundesarbeitskammer (Federal Chamber of Labour), in relation to the effects of the financial crisis on social security, that the situation regarding this particular Convention has not changed.

Articles 7 and 9–11 of the Convention. The Committee takes note of the changes in the regulation of the Federal of the Economy and Labour on employment and household statistics and welcomes the provision by the Government of the links to web pages for data on the employment status, actively employed, unemployed and jobseekers (Article 7), and labour cost and earnings (Articles 9, 10 and 11). The Committee also notes the provision of statistics of average weekly hours actually worked by employees, by sex and branch of economic activity derived from the labour force survey (latest data referring to 2008); average hourly earnings by sex and branch of economic activities, derived from various establishment surveys and insurance records (latest data referring to 2008 and classified according to ISIC Rev. 4, while in agriculture the latest data still refers to 2004). In addition, the Committee notes that the corresponding monthly statistics in manufacturing are regularly received at the ILO by email for dissemination on LABORSTA. As of June 2010, the latest statistics refer to September 2009.

With regard in particular to Article 9(2), the Committee notes that statistics of time rates of wages and normal hours of work were compiled on the basis of collective agreements, under the responsibility of the Federation of Austrian Trade Unions. They cover the whole country and a large number of occupations covered by these agreements. However, since the last report, the data have not been received at the ILO, and no information is available as to whether such statistics still continue to be compiled, since the latest data refer to 2002.

As to the statistics of occupational wage rates and normal hours of work, average earnings and hours actually worked, they are transmitted each year to STATISTICS for publication in the Occupational wages and hours of work and retail food prices. Statistics from the ILO October Inquiry 2009, results and dissemination on the ILO web site. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep the ILO informed about whether statistics of time rates of wages and normal hours of work still continue to be compiled on the basis of collective agreements, under the responsibility of the Federation of Austrian Trade Unions. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the new international standards concerning the measurement of working time (see Resolution I, adopted by the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, whose larger number of concepts and measures would seem to be better aligned with national practice, published via Internet at: http://www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Statistics/standards/resolutions/
lang--en/docName--WCMS_112455/index.htm).

Article 15. According to the Government, no strikes were announced by the Austrian Trade Union Federation for 2008 and the Federal Chamber of Labour stated that no changes occurred in the application of this Convention. However, a complete search on the English version website did not reveal any statistical or methodological information on the compilation of statistics of strikes in particular, contrary to the indication by the Government in reply to its previous comment that general information is available at http://www.statistik.gv.at. Accordingly, the Committee once again insists that the Government supplies information on the measures taken to ensure the publication by the competent body of a description of the methodology used in collecting and compiling statistics of industrial disputes (Article 6).