Childcare Shortages in Germany Threaten Push for Longer Working Hours, Unions Warn
Published on 07/27/2026 at 19:22 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Germany’s food and hospitality union NGG, backed by the powerful IG Metall, has launched a fierce attack on proposals to reform the country’s working-time law. The unions argue that extending the maximum daily shift to twelve hours would endanger workers’ health and wreck any realistic chance of balancing job and family life—especially given the nation’s glaring shortage of childcare places.
In a series of statements issued in late July, regional NGG branches sounded the alarm. The trigger: political moves to make the maximum workday more flexible. But the union insists reality on the ground makes that impossible. In Ludwigshafen, for instance, childcare slots exist for just 21 percent of toddlers, even though demand stands at 51 percent. The picture is similarly bleak in the Main-Kinzig district, where coverage reaches 30 percent against a 52 percent need, and in MĂĽlheim an der Ruhr, where only 37 percent of children can find a place.
“Longer workdays make reliable childcare planning impossible,” said Elwis Capece, head of the NGG in the Palatinate region. The burden falls hardest on single parents: already, 42 percent of them struggle to juggle work and family. Add employees who care for relatives—according to the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), that includes 51 percent of women and 41 percent of men—and the problem multiplies.
The health case against longer hours is equally stark. Citing medical studies, the NGG points out that after twelve hours on the job, the risk of an accident doubles. Its demand is unambiguous: stick with the legally enshrined eight-hour day.
The broader debate over working time has spilled into the auto industry, where tensions are escalating. Manufacturers such as Mercedes and suppliers like Aumovio are pushing for a return to the 40-hour week—sometimes without any wage compensation. In Ingolstadt and Villingen-Schwenningen, 38-hour weeks have already been introduced in exchange for investment pledges. IG Metall is pushing back hard. “Longer hours in plants that are underutilised will only fuel unemployment,” said Horst Ott, the union’s district leader for Bavaria. Since 2019, the sector has shed more than 100,000 jobs. The 35-hour week, Ott noted, has been the standard collective-bargaining norm since the 1990s. Upcoming wage negotiations for the metal and electrical industries are scheduled for September and October.
Meanwhile, a separate front has opened over the legal right to all-day care for first-graders, which takes effect in August. Many municipalities, particularly in North Rhine-Westphalia, say they cannot meet the requirement. Cities including Remscheid and Radevormwald have complained of insufficient staff and funding. Several local authorities are now considering filing a constitutional complaint, arguing that the federal and state governments have left them to fend for themselves.
Adding to the pressure, DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi warned in mid-July about the impact of heat on employees. One in three workers feels severely affected by high temperatures, she said, with estimated economic losses of 431 million euros per hot day.
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