1964: Labour Migration / “Guest Workers”

In the face of economic boom and full employment, the Federation of Trade Unions and the Chamber of Commerce agreed in the 1961  Raab Olah Agreement, a cornerstone of social partnership, on a simplified procedure for the employment of foreign workers. However, the quota agreements had to be supplemented by labour recruitment agreements with individual countries in order to succeed at bringing enough of a labour force to Austria: 1962 with Spain, which, however, had mostly no results; 1964 with Turkey; and 1966 with Yugoslavia. With the arrival of “guest workers” from Turkey and Yugoslavia in the 1960s , Austria became an immigration country – and thus, an increasingly diverse society.  

The term “guest worker” was meant to be friendly and inviting, although guests generally don’t work. More important, however – in all gratitude and appreciation of need – was to make clear that this was only meant as a temporary stay. Already in the early 1970s, when employment of the foreign workforce reached its first peak, it could have been realised that the people who had been summoned, would not all readily return. That Austria, of its own initiative and on the basis of its own interests, became a de facto country of immigration, was, however largely ignored.

In 1974, economic reasons (the so-called oil crisis) were not to be solely responsible for halting the number of foreign workers. Rather, sociopolitical considerations probably played an even more significant role. While a quarter of the foreign workforce was deprived of residency and work permits, there was, at the same time – as unintended side-effects – often a continuation of residency and an increase in family reunification.