CDU-SPD coalition argues over German working hours

The city of Leuna, within the jap German state of Saxony-Anhalt, is likely one of the nation’s largest chemical trade hub, the place greater than 100 firms have established operations. Among them is the Finnish biotechnology group UPM, which has lately constructed a biorefinery for wood-based chemical substances in Leuna. It’s now hiring.

One of the job listings is for a chemical technician to supervise the rollout of latest services. But to qualify, candidates should be keen to work 12-hour shifts. Is that authorized? According to German regulation, commonplace working hours are restricted to eight hours per day. It is permissible to increase this to 10 hours, supplied that employees obtain compensatory break day for the additional time, and there should be at the least 11 hours of relaxation between two shifts. 

Twelve-hour shifts? What German regulation permits

Business associations and the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) events have lengthy known as for these guidelines to be made extra versatile.

Rainer Dulger, president of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), factors to the European Working Time Directive, which permits for a most weekly working time of 48 hours. “The allowance is being taken benefit of just about all over the place else — besides right here,” Dulger informed the dpa information company in August.

Companies say they usually discover the present guidelines too inflexible, notably in industries with seasonal fluctuations — akin to tourism — or in project-based work, or throughout irregular peaks in workload, akin to within the restaurant trade. They may deploy their employees extra effectively, says Dulger: “The Working Hours Act dates again to the period of fax machines and rotary-dial telephones. It is aware of nothing of laptops or daycare hours.”

CDU and SPD divided on working hours

In their 2025 coalition settlement, the CDU/CSU and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed to reform the Working Hours Act. “In preserving with the European Working Time Directive, we need to enable for a most weekly slightly than day by day working time — additionally and particularly to advertise a greater work-life stability,” the settlement stated.

The SPD would have most popular to go away the regulation unchanged, however needed to settle for the conservative events’ plans. The Social Democrats identified that longer working hours are already permitted in distinctive circumstances, akin to in emergency providers, the well being care sector and safety providers. Workers in energy crops, refineries and the chemical trade are additionally allowed to work as much as 12 hours at a time.

A shock for Chancellor Friedrich Merz

Even Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself appeared unaware of this exception till fairly lately. After visiting the UPM refinery in Leuna in September, he recounted to corporate affairs leaders on the German Employers’ Day in Berlin that he was “fully stunned” to be taught that the services function on a steady 12-hour shift schedule, because of the approval of the works council.

Merz recounted the shift supervisor describing the work schedule as “actually nice” — with three-day work weeks. “He stated we have now loads of time for our households — it is an effective way to arrange issues.” Merz went on to conclude that this demonstrates the advantages of stress-free the Working Hours Act.

“Working greater than eight hours will not be exploitation. Rather, it may be an excellent alternative to arrange working hours extra flexibly — each for companies and for the individuals working there,” the chancellor stated. “We ought to do it.”

SPD agrees to longer working hours, however with situations

But there may be resistance from inside the SPD and from commerce unions against amending the Working Hours Act. The commerce union Verdi argues that considerably longer workdays would have destructive penalties for workers’ well being and would drawback individuals with household and caregiving tasks. In sure industries, staff may be put underneath strain to simply accept longer shifts.

An preliminary reform draft was drawn up in June 2026 by the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, headed on the time by Bärbel Bas, an SPD politician who has since resigned for personal reasons.

The draft consists of some situations, together with a collective bargaining settlement between employers and unions if any schedule adjustments have been made, in addition to well being and security laws, and dealing hours to be tracked electronically.

Dispute over collective bargaining rights and employee safety

Annika Klose, spokesperson for labor and social coverage for the SPD parliamentary group, defined the pondering behind the concept. Flexibility, she stated, is “not a one-way avenue.” The coalition settlement explicitly goals to advertise a greater stability between household and work. “So that it is generally potential to take your youngster to soccer observe within the afternoon after which proceed working afterward — however not that my boss tells me towards my will: ‘You’re working the shift from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow.'”

The CDU/CSU instantly rejected the draft. Businesses have been additionally up in arms. “This draft should be withdrawn and fully revised,” demanded Dulger in an announcement, saying it was “steeped in distrust.” The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) spoke of a “breach of the commitments agreed to within the coalition settlement.” The reform has been on maintain ever since.

Why the reform stalled

At the Employers’ Day occasion, Merz held out the prospect of progress. “This is certainly lengthy overdue. I consider we will accomplish this comparatively rapidly and create flexibility within the labor market.”

It stays to be seen, nevertheless, whether or not the brand new SPD Labor Minister, Alexander Schweitzer, shares this view. In early October, his get together launched a paper on reforming working hours that learn like a declaration of warfare towards the CDU. “Self-determination, Not Deregulation” is the title of the seven-page doc that was signed by the SPD working group on labor, the youth group Jusos, the “60plus” working group and the ladies’s wing of the SPD.

In the paper, the Social Democrats not solely reiterate the factors that already appeared in Bas’ draft again in June. They additionally demand that, sooner or later, employers and staff ought to resolve on working hours “collectively and by mutual settlement.” They argued that it’s not “within the spirit of a contemporary reform of working time regulation” if solely employers can decide when staff end work.

From a political perspective, the dispute over reforming work hours has lengthy turn into greater than only a debate over authorized provisions. It is a basic dispute over how a lot flexibility employees ought to be anticipated to tolerate sooner or later and to what extent the state ought to defend them. And it’s one more stumbling block for the already beleaguered authorities in Berlin.

This article was translated from German.