!!!Wirtschaftskammern

Economic Chambers (Wirtschaftskammern), formerly called Chambers of 
Trade (Kammern der gewerblichen Wirtschaft) or Chambers of Commerce 
(Handelskammern), interest groups of businesspersons, with compulsory 
membership and endowed with the right to examine bills and draft 
regulations since 1849; gradually gained influence by various laws 
from 1850, 1868, 1920 and 1937, and largely reorganised on the basis 
of the Handelskammergesetz (Law on Chambers of Commerce) of 1946 
(amended in 1995) and the Wirtschaftskammergesetz (Law on Economic 
Chambers) in 1998.

\\
Each province has a regional chamber consisting of 6 sections, which 
are not legal entities and which cover some of the following areas: 
Crafts, Trades, Services, Industry, Trade, Credit and Insurance 
Issues, Transport, Telecommunications, Tourism and Leisure Industry. 
Until 1937, when a federal chamber (Bundeskammer) was founded, there 
were only provincial chambers. However, it did not become active until 
1938. In 1946 a powerful Bundeskammer was set up (renamed  
Wirtschaftskammer Oesterreich on January 1, 1994); although it wields 
considerable control power, its federative structure gives a certain 
amount of autonomy to its various organs.

\\
The integration of specialised associations into the Chamber 
organisation in 1946 is unique in the world; it is made up of 130 
trade associations and of specialised groups in the provincial 
chambers, which are mainly called Federal or Provincial Guilds 
(Bundes- und Landesinnungen) within the Crafts, Trades and Services 
section and Federal or Provincial Committees (Bundes- und 
Landesgremien) in the Trade section. In some cases, there are only 
Fachvertretungen, i.e. representative bodies without legal personality 
instead of Fachgruppen, which are organised as corporations under 
public law. The entire Chamber organisation comprises about 1,000 
corporations under public law (Federal Chamber (Bundeskammer), 
Provincial Chambers (Landeskammern), and specialised associations and 
groups. Responsibility is divided up according to the principle of 
subsidiarity; matters are either dealt with jointly, in specialised 
groups or in a particular section itself.

\\
Almost all branches of the industry and trade except for the electric 
power industry are members of Economic Chambers. On account of the 
frequent need to negotiate compromises among the different branches, 
compulsory membership (also obligatory for specialised associations, 
i.e. Fachgruppen and Fachvertretungen) is very important. A relevant 
license that entitles the holder to run a business in trade and 
industry is the condition for membership in both a chamber and in a 
specialised association. At the end of 1999, the provincial chambers 
had about 374,000 members, of which many were businesses in the public 
sector.

\\
The chambers are in control of their own sphere of operation (they are 
exempted from state direction and are only subject to legal 
supervision by the Federal  Ministry of Economic Affairs). They defend 
the interests of businesses against the state and against other groups 
of persons in gainful employment. They are entitled to advisory status 
in the examination of bills and especially important draft 
regulations, and they delegate representatives to numerous 
institutions including commissions, councils, social security 
authorities etc. Chambers, specialised associations and specialised 
groups have the capacity to enter into collective agreements. Chambers 
also act on behalf of the state in respect of duties delegated to them 
and are involved in vocational training.

\\
Decisions are taken by functionaries who are elected for five years; 
the principal organs include the Kammertag (Council of Chambers) of 
the Wirtschaftskammer Oesterreich, the general assemblies of the 
provincial chambers and the meetings of the associations. All members 
of the competent specialised agencies are members of the Kammertag 
(direct democracy). The elections for the associations´ 
committees are direct, the other elections are indirect (proportional 
representation with due regard for small groups of voters). The 
president of the Wirtschaftskammer Oesterreich is elected by the 
Council of Chambers (Kammertag), the presidents of the provincial 
chambers are elected by the general assemblies. The Wirtschaftskammer 
Oesterreich has a secretariat general and a secretary general, each 
provincial chamber a chamber directorate (Kammerdirektion) and a 
chairperson.

\\
The chambers run the largest non-governmental system of education and 
further training through their umbrella organisation, the  
Wirtschaftsfoerderungsinstitut Oesterreich (WIFI). The 
Wirtschaftskammer Oesterreich possesses about 80  Foreign Trade 
Offices  for the promotion of trade with foreign countries. The 
chambers and specialised associations are financed by various levies 
(chamber levy and basic levies including those for specialised 
associations, registration fees and fees for special services.

!Literature
K. Korinek, Wirtschaftliche Selbstverwaltung, 1970; F. 
Geissler, Oesterreichische Handelskammerorganisation der 
Zwischenkriegszeit, 2 vols., 1977/80; H. Reiger, Zum Recht der 
Handelskammern, 1992; P. Pernthaler, Kammern im Bundesstaat, 1996; K. 
Retter, Die Wirtschaftskammerorganisation, 1997.


%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Wirtschaftskammer_Organisation_WKO|class='wikipage austrian']
%%

[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]