German Labour Chief Warns 13-Hour Shifts Would Harm Economy as Government Pushes Reform Before Summer Break

With the clock ticking toward a July 10 deadline, Germany’s coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz is working to finalise a sweeping reform package that would shift from a daily to a weekly cap on working hours. But the country’s largest labour federation has declared that measure a red line it will not cross.

Yasmin Fahimi, head of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), called the plan an “ideological folly” driven by dogma rather than evidence. Allowing shifts of up to 13 hours, she argued, “makes no economic or social sense” and threatens both domestic demand and the labour market. Speaking ahead of a high-stakes summit scheduled for Wednesday at the chancellery, Fahimi said there was no basis for negotiation on that point.

The DGB leader also took aim at the government’s austerity push. Blanket subsidy cuts, she said, are “nonsense” and would weaken consumer spending. Instead, she demanded targeted structural reforms and investment in modernising infrastructure, particularly in the energy sector.

The coalition, led by Merz’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, wants the reform package to cover income tax, labour market rules, pensions, bureaucracy reduction, and overhauls of health and long-term care insurance. A decision on pensions is already contentious: the youth wing of the CDU is demanding a cap of 3 percent on pension increases, while the SPD is holding out for 4.2 percent. A government-appointed pension commission must deliver its findings by June 29.

Despite poor polling — a recent survey puts the far-right Alternative for Germany at 29 percent, with the Union trailing at 21 percent — Merz struck an optimistic tone at a CDU state party congress in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Sunday. He insisted the coalition would stay unified and hit its summer deadline.

Wednesday’s meeting brings together four representatives each from unions and business for closed-door talks with the government. The DGB says it will present its own proposals, focused on channelling more support to companies that are ready to invest.

After that, the political calendar tightens. The coalition committee is scheduled to meet on June 30 and July 1 to finalise the details, with the entire package expected to be ready before parliament breaks for the summer recess after July 10.

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