Magistrate: Loss of salary for hundreds of employees?
politics
In the Salzburg city administration, hundreds of employees – for example in garbage collection, street cleaning or in care – are threatened with significant salary losses. Because dirt, aggravation and danger bonuses were wrongly paid out tax-free, says the finance department. The city is looking for a solution.
The tax authorities find that the city has wrongly paid these allowances tax-free. The instruction of the tax office would have been implemented quickly on September 1st. Then hundreds of municipal employees, for example in the recycling yard, in the garbage disposal or in the retirement homes, would only have noticed when they received the payslip that they would earn less in the future.
After intervention by the staff representation, Mayor Harald Preuner (ÖVP) stopped this at short notice, says staff representation head Walter Fuchsbauer: “If employees in the waste service, in care or in street cleaning suddenly earn up to 120 euros less net per month, then they will some families can hardly cover the exploding costs – food, housing, operating costs, fuel prices.”
Auinger: Most affected “in the lowest income bracket”
Politically, the Social Democrats want to put pressure on so that there is a loss of income for the municipal employees, says Deputy Mayor Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ): “This is the lowest income bracket – i.e. the people who generally don’t have it the hardest and earn the least. And with an inflation rate of ten percent for these employees, to say: ‘You lose 50 to 150 euros a month’ is not at all ok for me. There will be no consent from us. We have to regulate that internally in the magistrate. “There shouldn’t be “a euro” loss of income here.”
Salary losses feared for many magistrate employees
Magistrate director “wants to find a solution with everyone”
Municipal director Maximilian Tischler will also solve the problem: “I am very much in agreement with the mayor. We know: We urgently need the staff. We will look for a solution with everyone. And above all, we will talk to the tax office – we are also facing a solution with the professional fire brigade – that you can get a tax-free allowance in a different way, so that you can get out of the game straight away.”
It is still unclear how many municipal employees will be specifically affected by the elimination of the tax concession for the dirt, difficulty and danger allowance. According to staff representatives, it could be up to a third of the approximately 3,200.