This is behind the plans of the new government
Employees in Germany should be able to divide their working hours more flexibly in the future. Union and SPD want to replace the legally regulated eight-hour day with a maximum weekly working time. For example, employees could work longer over four days and take the fifth day. Many companies have been promoting such flexibility for a long time, but the unions are skeptical.
More scope for companies, but also for employees
Bertram Brossardt, general manager of the Association of the Bavarian economy, holds the Plans of the potential coalition partners for overdue. « The previous regulation of the maximum working time of a maximum of ten hours is no longer up to date, » he says to our editorial team. In fact, it is only possible to work longer in exceptional cases. In some industries, for example in gastronomy or in retail, in which the work volume is particularly unevenly distributed, this repeatedly leads to personnel bottlenecks. But not only the employers want more scope, many employees also see advantages of such a weekly working time.
Stephan Stracke is the Union faction in the Bundestag. The CSU-MP says: « More and more workers want more flexible working hours in order to be able to better reconcile the profession and care of children and the care of relatives. » The rigid eight-hour day is often a brake block. « We want to solve this blockade and enable weekly instead of daily maximum working hours, » explains Stracke.
Bavaria’s union boss warns: Many people are already at the limit
Resistance can be expected from the unions. You fear overload And growing pressure on employees to work longer. « The Working Hours Act is not a political negotiating mass, » emphasized Yasmin Fahimi, head of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), recently. Bavaria’s DGB boss Bernhard Stiedl also warns of our editorial team: « If you want to tip the eight-hour day, you risk the health of the employees and tighten the pressure on those who are already working on the limit today. 13-hour days under the guise of flexibility are the wrong way. » The unions want to raise their concerns in the already announced dialogue with the future federal government.
Business representative Brossardt, on the other hand, keeps: « It is not about working more, but more flexible. This benefits the companies in planning their production processes, but also the employees. » For the CSU MP Stracke, the new regulation is also an opportunity for companies to make positions more attractive and thus score in the competition for specialists.
How Union and SPD want to rule out abuse
In their coalition negotiations, the Union and SPD agreed that nobody should be forced to work longer than before. « We will effectively rule out abuse, » assures Stracke. The European working time guidelines and the specified rest periods would still have to be observed in order to protect employees from exploitation.
When the flexibility should come into force is still open. In any case, Brossardt increases the pressure on the CDU, CSU and SPD. The new government must be implemented quickly after taking office. « As a yardstick, we imagine an average weekly maximum working time of 48 hours, just as the European working time directive enables it, » says the head of the Bavarian Economy Association.
