Trade associations are demanding a maximum weekly working time.

Trade associations – including bakers – are calling on the federal government to replace the daily maximum working hours with a weekly maximum working hours.

This article is part of the special topic Record working hours - but how?

The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD states that working time law should be modernized*. Now, 29 business associations, including the Central Association of the Bakery Trade and the Farmers' Association, the Federal Government in a joint appeal to take action. 

The legally regulated Maximum daily working hours (currently eight or ten hours) In their opinion, it should be through a Maximum weekly working hours They need to be replaced. The legal framework for this must now be established promptly, according to the associations.

The European Working Time Directive would provide the necessary framework to combine flexibility and employee protection.

Companies could then, for example, better respond to production peaks or unforeseen workloadsEmployees would, among other things, have their working hours remain the same. more autonomy over one's time and personal freedom The associations stated that this significantly promotes the compatibility of family and career.

*Wording on this in the coalition agreement (page 18) "The world of work is changing. Employees and companies want more flexibility. Therefore, in accordance with the European Working Time Directive, we want to create the option of a weekly maximum working time instead of a daily one – also and especially to better reconcile family and career. We will conduct a dialogue with the social partners to determine the specific details." Furthermore, the list of exceptions for Sunday and public holiday work is to be expanded to include the bakery trade.
Source: Coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) opposes abolishing the standard eight-hour workday. This completely ignores the reality of employees, DGB Chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi criticized back in July. "Even today, people in Germany work numerous overtime hours – many of them unpaid – and social partners already agree on flexible working hours in thousands of collective bargaining agreements. The Working Time Act, in its current form, offers sufficient scope for this."

Source: ZDB; DGB

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