Germany’s Push for a 48-Hour Workweek Ignites Union Fury and Economic Hopes
29.06.2026 - 13:59:12 | boerse-global.de
The German hospitality sector is bracing for a regulatory earthquake. Under a reform plan floated by the country’s black-red coalition, a waiter or chef could soon legally clock 13 hours in a single shift and up to 73.5 hours across a week — nearly double the current daily cap of ten hours. The changes stem from a draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, dated 18 June, which would scrap the traditional eight-hour day in favour of a weekly ceiling of 48 hours.
Employers are already mapping out the upshot. At a membership meeting of the Federal Association of System Gastronomy (BdS) on 25 June in Berlin, president Matthias Kutzer called for reliable ground rules. His industry has earmarked €3bn in investment and plans to create 30,000 new jobs across 600 new locations, contingent on the law passing.
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The logic behind the overhaul is straightforward: swap rigid daily limits for a weekly maximum that gives companies scheduling flexibility. To enforce the new regime, businesses would be required to log working hours electronically. Violations could bring fines of up to €30,000. A special collective-bargaining clause would allow firms with a union contract to shorten or even scrap the mandatory eleven-hour rest period between shifts. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has backed the plan, arguing it provides the economy with much-needed wiggle room.
The law would not take effect before late 2026, likely 1 January 2027. The Bundestag is scheduled to debate the draft in the autumn.
Labour representatives are pushing back hard. The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) and the Food, Beverage and Catering Union (NGG) have denounced any erosion of the eight-hour day as a step backwards. The DGB points to alarmingly high overtime: roughly 1.2 billion extra hours were worked in 2025, more than half unpaid. Voter sentiment matches union anger — 93% of respondents oppose lengthening the workday, and 81% actually want it shortened.
Flight crews want separate protection. In a joint position paper also released on 25 June, the cabin union UFO and the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit criticised that cockpit and cabin staff are currently exempted wholesale from the Working Hours Act. Their heads, Kai Uwe Fuelle-Netzer (UFO) and Oliver Löwe (VC), demand binding load limits and prescribed recovery periods.
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The working-time reform is one piece of a broader conservative-SPD agenda. A coalition committee is scheduled for 2 July to align positions on labour, pensions, health care and tax policy. Business leaders have heralded the beginning of a “reform summer”.
Pension policy is another front. A government-appointed commission has recommended scrapping the “pension at 63” scheme and linking the retirement age to life expectancy. The DGB’s own pension commission counters by calling for a benefit level of up to 53% and a wealth levy to finance it. A study by the Institute for Macroeconomics and Business Cycle Research warns that if contribution rates hit 22% by 2032, the resulting burden could dent economic output and cost jobs.
