Overview
- The Economy Ministry has put a shift from a daily eight-hour limit to a weekly maximum back on the agenda and says it wants a decision this year, presenting it as a boost for tourism and small and midsize firms.
- Verdi and other major unions vowed protests and possible strikes, warning the change would lengthen workdays, erode recovery time and harm health, especially outside collective agreements.
- The current law caps work at eight hours per day, extendable to ten in exceptions, and officials say a formal bill is planned for the first half of 2026 in line with the governing parties’ coalition accord.
- Employer groups, including DEHOGA in hospitality, welcome greater flexibility, while labor researchers and social advocates such as the WSI and VdK caution about health risks and protections for disabled workers.
- Parallel disputes intensify as the CDU’s economic wing proposes curbing broad part-time rights, Indeed reports 26.8% of postings are part-time, and fiscal incentives for overtime are being discussed.