Overview

• The coalition agreement calls for replacing the eight-hour daily ceiling with a weekly maximum, opening the door to workdays exceeding twelve hours under existing rest-time rules.
• DGB chief Yasmin Fahimi and other union leaders contend the reform risks legalizing prolonged shifts in industries such as parcel delivery and intensifying family-care burdens.
• Researchers at the Hugo Sinzheimer Institut highlight increased stress-related illnesses, higher accident rates and potential counterproductive effects on economic productivity.
• The BDA and other employer associations insist that mandatory rest periods and any individual or collective agreements will remain intact to safeguard employees.
• A YouGov survey for the DPA finds 38 percent of Germans back the shift to weekly limits, 20 percent oppose it and 37 percent hold a neutral view.