It should be clear to everyone who has read the regulation, Schramböck said, who criticized “individual organizations” that circulate the opposite: “It is not in a pandemic.” honest to spread information that is not true. “
Schramböck emphasized in the press foyer after the government meeting that the regulation was “clear” for everyone. The Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the regulation with the “freedom of choice” contained therein. Independent organizations “which may not have studied the text carefully” would have made different claims.
“Dealers can choose”
The provision is formulated in such a way that the dealers can choose from various measures, according to Schramböck. In addition to the controls, there is also the possibility of putting up signs or providing masks. “Every dealer can decide for himself.” Of course, they have to “take care” of compliance with the mask requirement according to their possibilities, but the dealers have a choice of the means by which they do it, argued Schramböck.
Sales representatives and union angry
Sales representatives and the union had previously been angry. In their opinion, the trade employees would have to check randomly in the future which customers are unvaccinated and therefore have to wear an FFP2 mask. “How should the employees know their way around?”, GPA unionist Anita Palkovich criticized on Wednesday in the “Ö1 Journal at eight” on ORF radio. “They are not the deputies” who are supposed to control people who are critical of the corona measures.
“Regulations barely transparent”
“That’s not your job,” said Palkovich. “The work pressure is enormous, retailers are looking for staff everywhere, which means that the current team has to cope with the program.” Overall, the regulations are “barely transparent”, criticized the trade union secretary responsible for the trade union GPA.
Employers in retail are also grumbling. The employees could not query health data in addition to their actual job, criticizes Rainer Will, managing director of the trade association. “That is just unworldly.”
There is also criticism from the domestic shopping center operators (ACSP, Austrian Council of Shopping Places). Today they declared “emphatically” that they see themselves unable to control the new regulation “in large numbers”. “In Austria’s 254 shopping centers, an average of around 2.3 million people pass through each day,” they calculate.
These shopping centers are often run by a very small workforce, some of whom are not even on site every day. “The shopping center managements, like the trade employees, have on the one hand more than enough other tasks and on the other hand they are not trained for such controls,” said the ACSP in a broadcast on Wednesday. The operators also criticize the fact that they have never been invited to discussions about the practical implementation of the corona measures.
No criticism from the Chamber of Commerce
On the other hand, there is no criticism from the Federal Trade Department in the Chamber of Commerce. “The new Corona protective measures in retail are feasible for Austrian retailers. Because the different options mean that the requirements can be implemented differently in the shops depending on the possibility. Use with a sense of proportion is ensured,” said Chairman Rainer Trefelik.
The 1st amendment to the 2nd COVID-19 Measures Ordinance, published yesterday evening and effective immediately, stipulates that employees in “non-vital” trade with direct customer contact must wear an FFP2 mask if they have not been vaccinated or have recovered. Food retailers who are in direct contact with customers must always wear an FFP2 mask.
