Widespread Worker Resistance Erupts Across Germany Over Working-Time Reforms, VW Job Losses and Pension Age Hikes

A coalition of labour unions, social welfare organisations and environmental groups has launched a series of protest days across the state of Hesse in late June, demanding an end to strict adherence to Germany’s debt brake. Under the slogan “Future Instead of Scorched Earth”, the alliance — which includes the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), the VdK and the SoVD — calls for more public investment in social security and education instead of fiscal austerity.

The protests come as the federal government’s draft reform of the Arbeitszeitgesetz (Working Hours Act) ignites a fierce debate. The proposed law retains the eight-hour day as a baseline but would allow collective bargaining agreements or works council deals to introduce a weekly maximum — provided the annual average does not exceed 48 hours. A mandatory electronic time-recording system is also part of the plan.

Employers’ associations and parts of the CDU/CSU want even wider flexibility for all staff, while the DGB and some Social Democrats warn that hard-won protections are being eroded. SPD co-leader Bärbel Bas has explicitly rejected the weekly cap idea. Rainer Dulger, head of the Confederation of German Employers (BDA), wants the entire draft withdrawn, calling it unfit for the realities of modern work.

Into this dispute steps a fresh demand: better heat protection at the workplace. In mid-June, experts from the Allianz insurance group recommended flexible hours and siesta-style breaks during hot spells to maintain productivity. DGB board member Anja Piel voiced scepticism, cautioning that the heat discussion could be used as a pretext to undermine the eight-hour day.

The pressure on workers is most visible in the automotive sector, where Volkswagen is pushing an aggressive cost-cutting plan. At Thursday’s annual general meeting, CEO Oliver Blume defended the strategy: the core VW brand aims to shed around 35,000 jobs by 2030, with voluntary exits already agreed for 28,000 employees. Group-wide, VW plans to eliminate 50,000 positions and reduce production capacity by 500,000 vehicles each in Europe and China. The IG Metall union and VW’s works council have vowed to resist any plant closures.

The Osnabrück factory is in an especially precarious position. After the summer plant holiday, the site will shift to a four-day week. The roughly 2,000 workers there lack any secure outlook beyond 2027, and talks are already underway with defence contractors to repurpose the plant.

Structural decline in manufacturing is confirmed by a Bertelsmann Foundation study, which found that industrial employment in Germany has fallen to its lowest level since 2014. The sector’s share of total employment dropped from 22% to 19%, driven mainly by a slump in new hires. Entry-level wage premiums in industry have also shrunk noticeably.

Despite the tough climate, IG Metall has reason to celebrate. In this spring’s works council elections, the union increased its share of mandates to 74% — four percentage points higher than in 2022. It now holds 87% of all works council chair positions.

Meanwhile, resistance is growing against a possible increase in the retirement age. After government circles floated the idea of a “retirement at 70”, social welfare associations such as the VdK and SoVD raised the alarm. They insist that non-insurance-related benefits should be financed more from tax revenues rather than shifting the burden onto contributors.

In a separate front, 40 large industrial companies sent a letter to EU leaders in mid-June urging intervention on rising emissions-trading costs. IG Metall backs the call, warning that without corrective action, tens of thousands of jobs could be lost to production relocations.

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