Wirtschaftskammer Österreich

The Austrian Economic Chamber ( WKÖ - Wirtschaftskammer Österreich ) coordinates and represents the interests of the Austrian business community on the national and international level. Within the Austrian Economic Chambers system it functions as the national umbrella organisation for the 9 regional Chambers (one in each of Austria's Federal regions) and 110 trade associations for different industries. The Regional Chambers and trade associations have local offices to provide services as close as possible to members.

Main tasks and activities:

• Representation of membership interests at all levels of government. By law, governments are obliged to consult with Chambers on legislative projects and important regulation. In many laws, a provision is made to involve Chambers in decision-making and administrative procedures.
• Information and advisory service to members. Typical issues include taxation, labour law, vocational training, industry-specific legislation, industry-wide advertising, and market research.
• Collective bargaining with unions: Trade associations engage in negotiations with their respective sectoral country-wide union.
• Economic Promotion and Development, training and consulting are mainly organised by a specialised department in each region (WIFI, Wirtschaftsfoerderungsinstitut).
• Austrian Trade - International Trade Promotion and Business Support is provided by a specialised department at the national level ( AWO, Aussenwirtschaft Österreich), 70 field offices around the world, and a network of specialised experts within all Regional Chambers.

Address:

Wiedner Hauptstr. 63
Postfach 350
A-1045 Wien
Austria

President: Dr. Christoph Leitl
General Secretary : Mag.Christian Domany
Deputy Secretary General: Dr. Reinhold Mitterlehner

Tel:+43 1 50 105 0
Fax:+43 1 50 20 62 75
E-mail: callcenter@wko.at
http://www.wko.at

Partners: Christa Schweng and Erich Eibl (WIFI)