The Greens parliamentary group is strongly opposing the Federal Government’s plans to diminish the protective status of the eight-hour workday. Instead, they are demanding increased co-determination and time sovereignty for employees. A motion regarding this issue is scheduled for debate in the Bundestag this Friday.
Ricarda Lang, the faction’s responsible reporter, criticized Friedrich Merz in an interview with Politico, stating, “Friedrich Merz calls hard-working people lazy, which shows how far removed he is from their living reality”. Lang also added that a chancellor who defines the country primarily by who is not performing enough cannot succeed.
According to Lang, the eight-hour workday is not an obstacle but rather a framework designed to ensure healthy working conditions. The Greens reject the plan laid out in the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD, which proposes switching from daily to weekly maximum working hours.
The former head of the Greens is demanding greater control over the length, location, and timing of work-while maintaining employee protections. Their proposed motion calls for more flexible full-time models, ranging between 30 and 40 weekly hours, a formal right to increase working hours, and a right to home office provided that no operational reasons oppose it.
