Unitary union (Austria)

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The union federation of Austrian workers and employees was the union of the corporate state of Austria from 1934 to 1938.

prehistory

With the so - called self - elimination of parliament on March 4, 1933, the transformation of the 1st republic into the authoritarian system of rule of Austrofascism began . It tried to make all organizations as “non-partisan” as possible. The ruling Christian Social Party was soon converted into the " Unity Party " of the Patriotic Front . The Republican Schutzbund was banned on March 31, 1933, and the Austrian Communist Party on May 26, 1933 . With an ordinance of April 21, 1933, an extensive strike ban was issued. On December 21, 1933, the works councils in all state-owned companies were dissolved and an administrative commission was set up for each chamber of labor , the members of which were appointed by the Minister of Social Affairs . The free trade unions did not nominate representatives for this commission in protest.

During the February fights in 1934 , the Free Trade Unions, the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party and other social democratic organizations were banned on February 12 . Works councils with a social democratic background were also dismissed. The Chamber of Labor took over the role of the free trade unions in the collective agreements for a short time and the Christian trade unions experienced - if only for a short time - a large increase in membership.

Emergence

In the Council of Ministers there were now different ideas as to how the reorganization of the interests of workers and employees should be designed. It was agreed that the directional unions still in existence should be replaced by a single unified union . Home guard representatives such as the new Federal Minister for Social Administration Odo Neustädter-Stürmer pleaded for the abolition of the Chamber of Labor and the creation of a new trade union as a transitional instrument until a professional order was achieved . Engelbert Dollfuss spoke out in favor of keeping the Chamber of Labor as a compulsory association with a limited function and argued that the newly created union needed the “appearance of a permanent function”.

On March 2, 1934, the Council of Ministers decided by ordinance to set up a unified trade union called the Federation of Austrian Workers and Salaried Employees , or Trade Union Federation for short . Accession to this should be voluntary and the chambers of labor should act as offices for the union. This information was communicated the next day to representatives of the still legally existing Christian and Independent Union . In April provisions were passed on details such as the liquidation of the old unions' assets and open retirement payments for their officials.

At the same time as the proclamation of the May constitution on May 1, 1934, the reorganization of the trade union system came into force.

organization

The executive committee of the unified trade union union federation was appointed by decree of the Minister of Social Affairs and the appointment of subordinate functionaries also required its confirmation. The twelve members of the board included seven former members of the Christian trade union, three of the independent trade union, one of the German national trade union and one of the free trade union. The former general secretary of the Central Association of the Christian Union, Johann Staud , became president of the Federation of Trade Unions .

The trade union federation was organized into five professional groups: industry and mining, trade, trade and transport, money and credit, and liberal professions.

The unified trade union was an institution under public law and was only intended as a carrier of the social and economic interests of workers and employees. It had no political authority and its influence was correspondingly small.

At the end of 1937 the unified union had over 400,000 members.

Act

As a monopoly instance, the trade union federation took over from the Chamber of Labor the role of contractual partner in the collective agreements, while the employers' federations established in 1934/35 were used as counterparts . However, many entrepreneurs had previously terminated collective agreements due to the loss of the free trade unions as contractual partners. The newly negotiated contracts were now often less favorable to the workforce than the previously existing ones.

With the Social Insurance Act of 1935, there was a deterioration in sick pay, emergency assistance, unemployment and pension insurance. Works councils have been replaced by joint works with shop stewards . Politically convicted persons were excluded from the right to vote and could therefore be dismissed by the owners or entrepreneurs. The unified union was unable to prevent all these cuts in social achievements.

With the appointment of Josef Dobretsberger as the new Minister of Social Affairs in October 1935, hopes were raised for a reconciliation between the state and the Social Democrats. These were not fulfilled, however, as Dobretsberger had to leave the ministerial post in May 1936.

In any case, the unified trade union was the institution of the corporate state that was best able to address workers and employees who were fundamentally social-democratic. Between October 1 and December 31, 1936, shop stewards elections for the factory communities took place across Austria. Although only members of the unified trade unions could be elected, it is assumed that around half of the elected shop stewards were connected to the illegal free trade unions.

During the "Anschluss" of Austria to Hitler Germany , Johann Staud was arrested in the morning hours of March 12, 1938 and Vice President Josef Lengauer temporarily took over the management of the unified union. The German Labor Front finally replaced the unified trade union, which officially ceased to exist on June 15, 1938.

The Austrian Federation of Trade Unions , which was founded after the war in 1945 under a very similar name, does not see any free representation of interests in the unified trade union and therefore does not consider itself to be its successor.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Emmerich Tálos : The Austrofascist system of rule: Austria 1933–1938 (=  Politics and Contemporary History . Volume 8 ). 2nd Edition. LIT Verlag, Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-50494-4 , p. 335–342 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - gives names in shortened form as the union of workers and employees ).
  2. ^ A b Peter Autengruber : History of the Austrian trade union movement up to 1945 . In: OGB (ed.): Union Kund . tape 2 . Verlag des ÖBG GmbH, Vienna 2017, p. 97 (script for educational events of the ÖGB).
  3. ^ Anton Pelinka : The unified union . In: Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance (ed.): “Anschluss” 1938 . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-215-06898-2 , p. 37 .
  4. ^ A b Peter Autengruber: History of the Austrian trade union movement up to 1945 . In: ÖGB (Hrsg.): Trade union knowledge . tape 2 . Verlag des ÖBG GmbH, Vienna 2017, p. 98 (script for educational events of the ÖGB).
  5. ^ Peter Autengruber: History of the Austrian trade union movement until 1945 . In: ÖGB (Hrsg.): Trade union knowledge . tape 2 . Verlag des ÖBG GmbH, Vienna 2017, p. 99 (script for educational events of the ÖGB).
  6. ^ Anton Pelinka: The unified union . In: Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance (ed.): “Anschluss” 1938 . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-215-06898-2 , p. 38-39 .