The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) is urging the Federal Government to mandate that any introduction of a fixed weekly working time must be tied strictly to collective bargaining agreements. According to DGB board member Anja Piel, arrangements regarding weekly schedules should be incorporated into these contracts, allowing for the negotiation of the most suitable models at a company level.
Piel stressed that the existing legal limit of eight hours a day must be maintained. She argued that establishing a weekly maximum would inadvertently legalize consecutive daily shifts of up to 13 hours for all employees, across all jobs. The DGB views labor law not as a barrier to flexibility, but as a crucial protective measure safeguarding 43 million workers against overload and accidents.
The Federal Government is currently deliberating on the implementation of a weekly working time system. While Minister of Labor Bärbel Bas (SPD) proposed an initial bill allowing this change through collective contracts, both the conservative Union party and the business community strongly rejected the proposal as overly restrictive. The current coalition agreement only states a general desire to “create the possibility of a weekly instead of a daily maximum working time.”
Piel noted that current labor laws already permit working ten hours daily over six days a week. She dismissed the idea of a system that simply extends working hours without offering real relief, stating that what employees truly need is not a legal “working end” that is constantly pushed back. According to the DGB, achieving true work-life balance requires good collective agreements, high-quality daycare, and comprehensive schooling, rather than the implementation of a legally authorized 13-hour workday.
