Austrian civil servants plan to file a lawsuit with the country's highest court contesting parts of a government austerity campaign that toughens rules for their pensions, the head of their union was quoted as saying.
The legal action, announced by GOeD labour leader Fritz Neugebauer in an interview with the Austria Press Agency published on Sunday, adds to the backlash across Europe against belt-tightening by governments trying to reduce budget deficits.
Neugebauer told APA the civil servants objected to the abruptness of measures that raise the retirement age for some long-time public officials to 62 from 60 from 2014 and that reduce some pensions by up to 15 percent.
The measures themselves are not in dispute, but the speed with which they take effect is unconstitutional, he said.
"We will take this question to the Constitutional Court," he was quoted as saying.