THE PERSONNEL MANAGER
FROM KREISKY'S LIVING ROOM
JOHHANNES KOPF
THE PERSONLACHEF
The AMS Executive Board on the fight against mass unemployment and the tasks of state labour market policy
He is a key figure in overcoming the coronavirus economic crisis: Johannes Kopf, CEO of the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS). A Herculean task: as many people as possible must be kept in employment with the instrument of short-time work. People who become unemployed currently have bleak prospects of finding a job. In some sectors, the usual seasonal unemployment is intensifying with the rules of „soft“ or „hard“ lockdowns. Long-term unemployment is rising almost logically. What plans and programmes can be put in place to ensure that this does not have terrible long-term consequences beyond the pandemic? After all, long-term unemployment devalues qualifications and, not least, is a serious psychological burden.
Is it time to think about radical alternatives? What about, for example, a state employment guarantee, as is already being debated everywhere and trialled locally? How can we combat the scandal of mass unemployment once the pandemic is over?
Johannes Kopf, Viennese, lawyer, family man, member of the Executive Board of the Public Employment Service Austria (AMS). Since 1 July 2019 also Chairman of the Network of European Labour Market Administrations. From 2003 to 2006, labour market expert in the cabinet of Economics and Labour Minister Martin Bartenstein. Prior to that, advisor to the Federation of Austrian Industries with a focus on labour market and employment policy, deputy member of the Administrative Board of the AMS. From 2001 to 2002, Austria's employer negotiator in Brussels in the EU's social dialogue on temporary work and teleworking.
Awarded the Dr Heinrich Treichl Prize for humanitarian commitment (Red Cross Austria).
Robert Misik, Author and journalist