Government for Zero Wage Round in the Federation

The government is imposing another zero wage round on itself and other top earners at the federal level. The salaries of the Federal President, government members, and parliamentarians will not be adjusted for inflation next year either, as agreed by the three-party coalition. The legal basis for this is to be decided in parliament in the fall. For the future, the government wants to regulate the valorization of politicians' salaries anew.

Federal President, Government Members, State Secretaries

The politicians must also "make a contribution to budget consolidation" and set a good example, explained Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ), and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) in a joint statement. Affected by the non-valorization are the Federal President, government members and state secretaries, the National Council Presidents, the President of the Court of Audit, the club chairmen, the ombudsmen, National Council members, and Federal Council members.

The extent to which politicians' salaries at the state level will be increased is left to the states. However, the federal government appealed that "in times of nationwide consolidation, a joint effort at all levels" is needed. At least Styria, Vorarlberg, and Lower Austria followed the appeal and announced a zero wage round on Friday - Lower Austria initially only for the state government.

According to the current salary law, politicians' salaries would have to increase by an estimated 2.6 percent next year. This is the preliminary legal adjustment factor, which is derived from the inflation rate published on Friday. It is calculated from the average monthly inflation rate between July 2024 to June 2025 or August to July - whichever of the two values is lower.

Announcement from the Government

At the same time, the government announced on Friday that it would develop a proposal for the future regulation of the valorization of politicians' salaries. The aim is "a transparent, fair, and comprehensible solution for the coming years, which also reflects the value of political work."

The federal politicians' salaries are set in a uniform salary pyramid according to the Federal Remuneration Act of 1997. For politicians at the state and municipal levels, there are salary caps. Because in recent years there have repeatedly been zero wage rounds or increases below inflation, politicians' salaries have lost significant value since their introduction over 25 years ago.

In addition, due to different increases - for example, zero wage rounds only applied to top earners in the federal government - there are now three different starting amounts for potential raises. The structure of the salary pyramid thus increasingly deviates from the original idea of the legislator, namely to create a fair and clear salary structure, criticized the Court of Audit in December.

Federal President at the Top

At the top of the salary pyramid is the Federal President, whose salary of 26,701 euros gross per month remains frozen for the third consecutive year. The same applies to the Federal Chancellor, who ranks second with 23,840 euros. Following them in the pyramid are the Vice Chancellor (20,979), the President of the National Council (20,025), and Ministers (19,072). However, due to the different increases, the salary cap for state governors is now significantly higher at 22,657 euros, even though the state governor's salary should correspond to that of a minister according to the Remuneration Act. With the increase according to the adjustment factor, the salary cap for state governors would even rise to 23,248 euros in 2026.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.