The Chamber of Labour (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte'', shortform ''Arbeiterkammer'' or ''AK''), is an organisation that represents the interests of 3 million

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

s and

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

s. Membership is compulsory for all employees working in Austria, and it is thus not to be confused with Austrian

labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

s, where membership is voluntary and which are organized in an umbrella organisation, the ÖGB. Together, the ÖGB and the Arbeiterkammer represent the interests of employees in the Austrian system of Sozialpartnerschaft (''"Social Partnership"''), which plays a major role in the regulation of wages and prices. The Austrian Chamber of Labour is based on the nine Chambers of labour for each federal state in Austria. The president of the Chamber of Labour for Vienna is also the president of the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The Chamber of Labour was founded in 1920 after the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy. During 1934 and 1938 the Chamber of Labour were integrated into the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

unitary trade union centres. In 1938 they were liquidated by the

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. One of the main projects of the Chamber of Labour is the creation of the work climate index (Arbeitsklima Index), which was established in 1997 and till today (2010) includes about 42,000 interviews of

worker The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

s in Austria.

References

External links

Chamber of Labour
Labor in Austria Workers' rights organizations Consumer rights organizations Political organisations based in Austria Trade unions established in 1920 {{austria-org-stub