German labour minister's draft working time bill triggers coalition rift as CDU and employers cry foul
A draft bill from Germany's Labour Ministry that would relax the eight-hour working day only for companies with collective agreements has ignited a fierce coalition dispute, with CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann declaring it no basis for further work.
Draft bill limits flexibility to tariff-bound firms
The leaked draft from the SPD-led Federal Ministry of Labour proposes that collective bargaining parties may agree on a weekly instead of a daily maximum working time. The current law sets a daily cap of eight hours, extendable to ten in certain cases, with some flexibility already possible via collective agreements. The new draft, however, would extend this flexibility only to companies bound by collective agreements. For workplaces without a tariff agreement, the daily limit would essentially remain. The draft also mandates electronic recording of beginning, end and duration of daily working time, responding to rulings from the European Court of Justice and the Federal Labour Court.
Coalition rift
The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD had pledged to create the possibility of a weekly maximum working time "in line with the European working time directive, also and especially for better compatibility of family and work." CDU/CSU politicians and employer associations now argue that the draft breaks that promise by tying the relaxation to the existence of a collective agreement. The draft therefore contravenes the coalition pact, they say.
The circulating draft from the Federal Ministry of Labour does not correspond to the agreement on working time flexibility in the coalition agreement and can therefore not serve as a basis for the further work of the coalition on this matter.
Employers decry old regulatory patterns
Employer groups attacked the draft immediately. The president of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), Rainer Dulger, said it "flagrantly contradicts the coalition agreement" and fails to meet the requirements of a flexible digital working world. Gesamtmetall chief executive Oliver Zander described it as "a collection of maximum positions of the trade unions" and added that the draft "borders on refusal to work and has nothing to do with a pragmatic adjustment to the reality of the world of work." The chairwoman of the CDU/CSU small and medium-sized business union, Gitta Connemann, called the text "a counter-draft to the coalition agreement, to the detriment of SMEs."
What has been presented here is not a reform, but a collection of maximum positions of the trade unions.
Ministry insists draft is not final
The labour ministry described the document as an internal working draft still undergoing coordination within the ministry and therefore not yet cleared for inter-ministerial consultation or the chancellery. Such reference drafts are often used to test the political mood. CDU labour market spokesperson Marc Biadacz stressed the Union's position that a weekly maximum working time should be available to all employees, regardless of whether they are covered by a collective agreement.
The position of the Union is clear: A weekly maximum working time creates considerable flexibility in a multitude of professions. We want to make this possible for all employees, regardless of whether they are bound by collective agreements or not.
Unions maintain pressure
The trade unions have been mobilising for months with the campaign "Mit Macht für die 8" against any abolition of the eight-hour day, which was first enshrined in law in 1918. SPD labour market politician Jan Dieren had already made clear last year that the reform of the Working Time Act was "not a pet project" of his party. The current draft, by restricting any change to tariff-bound companies, appears to reflect union influence, yet still draws fierce opposition from employers and the CDU.
