Austerity Package for Austrian Railways?

Politics ♦ Published: December 19, 2011; 11:28 ♦ (Vindobona)

According to media reports, the Austrian Railways (ÖBB) faces drastic steps. Among others, a hiring freeze is discussed.

Austerity Package for Austrian Railways? / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / NÖLB Mh [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

A radical austerity package is currently discussed within the government, the Austrian newspaper “Kurier” says. At the moment, only the first negotiations are going on. Especially ÖVP puts pressure on the coalition partner SPÖ to reduce the grants, which total about € 6.0bn. Therefore, a hiring freeze and a stop of early retirements are considered. Moreover, ÖBB should create a…