Die AK ist das Parlament der Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer – Warum? Und wie funktioniert das?

Sachlich, verständlich

The Chamber of Labour is like an “employee parliament” – why? And how does that work?

The Chamber of Labour is made up of all employees in Austria

The Chamber of Labour (AK) is split into nine independent chambers, one in each of Austria’s federal provinces. The larger provinces have several AK offices.

Every five years, the AK members in each province elect their representatives – the members of the AK assembly. These elected Chamber members (the “MPs”, if you will) form the General Assembly, which in turn selects the executive board and the president of the chamber in each province. The umbrella organisation for the nine provincial bodies is the Federal Chamber of Labour, which is based in Vienna.

Sachlich, in leichter Sprache

The Chamber of Labour (AK) assembly is the country’s top representative body for employees. All elected political groups are represented there. The assembly is elected every five years by the AK’s members and its job is to decide the focuses of the Chamber’s work. All of the assembly’s members play their part in defending employees’ interests, giving workers a voice on topics that matter to them.

Witzig, mit anschaulichen Vergleichen, in DU

Think back to your school days – choosing class and school presidents is important because it underlines the strong support they have from the students. The Chamber of Labour (AK) elections work the same way. Workers choose their representatives, and the more votes they receive, the stronger their voice is.

We all know how parliamentary elections work: you vote for the party that you think is the best option. Then, the party sends its elected representatives to parliament. The more MPs a party has, the more it can influence decisions. Different parties are also represented in the AK assembly. But they all share a common goal: getting the best deal for employees.