Black-red plans
Trade Union Confederation Warnn: There are threatening “13-hour layers”
04/15/2025 – 10:01 a.m.Reading time: 1 min.
The future black and red coalition is planning more flexible working hours. The union association wants to prevent this. DGB boss Fahimi gives the reasons.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) does not believe in enabling a longer daily working time. The Working Hours Act must remain a protection law for the health of the employees, said DGB chairman Yasmin Fahimi of the “Augsburg Allgemeine”. In the coalition negotiations of the Union and the SPD, it was “a political negotiating mass, which is a serious mistake”.
In their coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD have made a weekly framework for working hours instead of the usual eight-hour day. Employees and companies wanted more flexibility, it says. The project should be designed in consultation with employers and unions.
Fahimi warns of possible consequences: “For employees who do not have a strong union representative in the back, the risk of having to do 13-hour shifts threatens. This practice would be legitimized with the plans of the new coalition, said the DGB chairman. That would be highly questionable, “because we need workers who achieve their pension healthy”. Fahimi pointed out that employees could already work 40 hours for four days and up to 60 hours a week.
