"Are not through yet": No additional fee for Passions contributors - Ukraine war and Corona remain a risk
Created: 08/03/2022, 12:00 p.m
By: Manuela Schauer
Whoever plays the game of vows must spend a lot of time.
Photo: mayr/oh © Mayr
The majority has decided: The participants in the Oberammergau Passion Play will not receive any bonus to compensate for the additional work, for example Corona tests.
Oberammergau – If Walter Rutz had a list of words that would drive him nuts, it would have grown after the municipal council meeting.
Supplemented by "optimistic" and "forecast" - or preferably with the "optimistic forecast".
He is said to have submitted one of these in the work committee at the beginning of July in the interim report on the Passion.
At least that's how the Non-Party Voter Community, PWG for short, felt.
Because that's the only reason she came up with the idea of demanding a passion gratuity in the first place.
However, the majority of the panel rejected the proposal (14:4).
The parliamentary group wanted to recognize the performance of the contributors with employment contracts.
For everyone, from the game master to the child in the people, there was an additional effort, among other things, in view of Corona and the associated tests.
Mainly of a temporal nature.
In order to create a certain balance, the PWG found it legitimate to pay out additional money as recognition (see info box).
But without the community incurring any additional costs.
"We are moving within the economic plan," Ludwig Utschneider clarified.
"It's not about extra spending."
The suggestion
The non-partisan electoral community included the regulation for the bonus payments in its application.
The gratuity is for contributors who.
.
.
- up to one third of the games were scheduled and participated two daily fees
- up to two thirds of the games were scheduled and participated three daily fees.
- over two-thirds of the games were divided and participated four daily fees.
The vow game has shrunk by more than 400 participants - due to cancellations and non-participation, partly due to the postponement to 2022.
This means that planned rehearsal money, for example, is saved as a result.
Which is reflected in the expenses in the fee area.
Instead of the calculated 22.4 million euros, these are below 20 million euros.
"For us," emphasized Utschneider, "there is leeway." One can discuss the amount of the surcharge, but the application per se is justified.
exposed to external influences
Rutz, however, could not understand the concern from the start.
Of course, he had the counter-arguments in his luggage.
The plant manager cited the employment contracts, among other things.
Because the (voluntary) participation is based on an agreement with a daily rate that has been signed.
The additional time required due to the Covid 19 hygiene measures was known to all those involved and was taken into account in the contract.
Point number one why he considers an additional fee payment to be unjustified.
Point number two, and Rutz always points this out, are the uncertainties that those responsible cannot influence: Firstly, Corona.
It remains to be seen whether there will be restrictions again in autumn due to a renewed increase in incidences.
But it is precisely this guesswork that makes it impossible for Rutz to finally calculate the hygiene expenses.
On the other hand, the energy crisis is coming to a head.
The effects - according to the plant management not yet foreseeable.
And to make matters worse, there is still a war in Ukraine that affects ticket sales.
Even if the hoped-for utilization of just over 85 percent has now been achieved, Rutz is happy every day "if nothing happened".
In plain English: "We're not through yet." There are still adverse circumstances that could negatively affect the vow game.
We're dismantling a bear that doesn't exist yet.
Walter Rutz
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The representatives of the PWG were surprised at the factory manager's sudden "black painting" - in view of the "optimistic report" in the works committee, as Utschneider put it.
"Now put that into perspective again." You could literally see Rutz as his threshold dropped and dropped.
He denied having made "any exultant statements."
He made it absolutely clear: The only positive thing was that the 85 percent mark was broken.
Otherwise, no one knows what else is in store for Oberammergau.
A gratuity is absolutely out of place for Rutz.
"We're dismantling a bear that doesn't exist yet."
His assessment was shared by most of the councillors.
Among them Eugen Huber (a sense of proportion).
The deputy mayor was of the opinion that the contributors earn well, "far above what the collective bargaining requirements would be."
He now considered it inappropriate to “distribute money with a watering can”.
He would prefer it if the municipality were given some breathing room financially.
From which everyone benefits.
That was also the opinion of parliamentary group colleague Wolfgang Proksch.
"If we achieve more, that will benefit the citizens." Everyone would have added value.
For this reason, the compromise proposal by Michael Fux (PWG) was not well received by the councils.
He suggested only allowing the bonus to take effect when the capacity utilization has reached the 90 hurdle.
"Spread out the bearskin in front of it," Fux said in reference to Rutz's animal metaphor,
