German Labour Law Revamp Draws Fire for Leaving Non-Union Firms Out in the Cold
20.06.2026 - 13:14:23 | boerse-global.de
A confidential 21-page draft from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Labour, led by SPD minister Bärbel Bas, has ignited a fierce political and business backlash. The planned revision of the country’s Working Hours Act would keep the eight-hour day as a baseline but allow deviations toward a weekly maximum – exclusively for companies that either have a collective bargaining agreement (Tarifvertrag) or operate under a works council arrangement (Betriebsvereinbarung).
Organisations representing employers and small-to-medium enterprises did not hold back. Rainer Dulger, president of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), called the draft “an imposition” and demanded its outright withdrawal. Oliver Zander, managing director of the metal industry association Gesamtmetall, described the text as a collection of “maximalist union demands.” Thilo Brodtmann, head of the mechanical engineering association VDMA, warned that countless companies without a collective agreement would be locked out of the very flexibilisation the reform claims to introduce.
The criticism cuts across party lines. A joint statement from CDU secretary-general Carsten Linnemann and Gitta Connemann, head of the Mittelstandsunion (a business-wing group within the CDU/CSU), accused the SPD-led ministry of violating the coalition agreement. Union parliamentary speaker Marc Biadacz insisted that any flexibility in working hours must be available to all employees, regardless of whether their employer has a union contract.
One additional flashpoint is the proposed mandatory electronic time?tracking. Business associations argue that new documentation duties would burden nearly every company, while only a subset would actually benefit from the relaxed-hour rules. Marie?Christine Ostermann of the association “Die Familienunternehmer” (Family-Owned Enterprises) did the maths: “The advantages go to a few, the bureaucratic costs land on nearly everyone.”
The German Crafts and Trades Association (ZDH) labelled the draft out of touch with reality. Secretary?general Holger Schwannecke said the planned rules completely miss the day?to?day challenges of small craft businesses. Uwe Goebel, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), called for corrections, particularly to protect small companies and start?ups.
Supporters within the SPD and the trade unions struck a very different tone. SPD politician Annika Klose argued that the draft represents a necessary step forward: it would improve the reconciliation of family and career while eliminating unpaid overtime. Bernhard Steidl of the DGB Bavaria defended keeping the eight?hour day as a core tool for health protection.
The document also includes specific sector exceptions: bakeries would be allowed to open for up to eight hours on Sundays, and libraries for up to six hours.
The Ministry of Labour has stressed that the text is merely a preliminary internal working version in an early coordination phase. No final bill has been tabled yet.
