Austrian Chamber Chief Pushes 10-Hour Days for Teen Apprentices — Unions Push Back
Published on 07/26/2026 at 12:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The president of Burgenland’s chamber of commerce, Andreas Wirth, has proposed sweeping changes to Austria’s apprenticeship laws that would let underage trainees work up to ten hours a day in exchange for a four-day week. The plan has drawn immediate fire from labour unions, who warn it could endanger young workers and worsen the country’s childcare crunch.
Under current rules, apprentices aged 15 to 17 cannot work more than eight to nine hours daily. Wirth wants to raise that ceiling to ten hours, while allowing employers to compress the workweek into four days. The proposal is part of a broader push to modernise regulations that the chamber says no longer fit real-world business operations.
Wirth is also calling for financial compensation to be paid to companies whose apprentices are poached by rivals immediately after passing their final exams. Additionally, he wants to make it easier to terminate apprenticeship contracts in cases where trainees live with separated parents, arguing that such arrangements can complicate the training process.
Union warning: longer hours, higher risk
The opposition was swift. The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) — active in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Hesse — argues that extending daily hours is reckless. According to the union, accident risk statistically doubles after twelve hours of work.
But the NGG’s concerns go beyond safety. It points to severe gaps in childcare provision that would make longer working weeks untenable for families. In districts such as Wesel and Lahn-Dill-Kreis, nursery places for children under three cover only 30 to 32 percent of demand, while the actual need is estimated at over 50 percent.
“Extending weekly working hours to 48 or even 73.5 hours massively endangers the compatibility of family and career,” the union said. Rather than reforming work schedules, it is demanding that the government expand childcare services.
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What the law currently says about young workers
The debate comes at a time when summer jobs and short-term employment for minors are also under review. Workers under 18 who have not completed vocational training are subject to special protections. Notably, the general minimum wage of €13.90 per hour does not apply to them.
Specifically, 15- to 17-year-olds may work a maximum of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Their shifts must fall between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., with exceptions for hospitality (until 10 p.m.) and multi-shift operations (until 11 p.m.) for those aged 16 and older. Thirteen- and 14-year-olds may only perform light tasks — for example in agriculture — for two to three hours daily. The DGB youth wing is pushing to extend the minimum wage to minors.
A surge in start-ups adds pressure for reform
The push for flexibility is not happening in a vacuum. In the first half of 2026, the number of new business registrations in Austria rose 4.5 percent to 21,718 sole proprietorships. The largest share came from trade and crafts (37.8 percent) followed by information and consulting (23.4 percent).
The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ) links these figures to demands for less red tape — including one-stop shops for founders and investment allowances of up to €100,000. The crafts sector is also pressing for change: ZDH President Jörg Dittrich wants to scrap the ban on Sunday baking for artisan bakeries, arguing that it puts them at a disadvantage compared to petrol stations and chain bakeries.
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