Sunday Production Push for German Bakeries Sparks Union Backlash Amid Industry Decline

Germany's black-red coalition proposes allowing bakeries 8 hours of Sunday work from 2027, facing fierce union opposition and sparking debate over labour rights and industry survival.

Germany’s black-red coalition is facing mounting opposition from unions and labour advocates over a plan to let bakeries work up to eight hours on Sundays and public holidays starting 1 January 2027. The proposed change, buried in a 34-point economic package titled “A Programme for Recovery and Employment”, would scrap a 1996 rule that currently caps Sunday production at three hours.

Unions NGG and Verdi, alongside the Alliance for the Free Sunday, have sharply criticised the move. They argue that expanding Sunday labour will make the baking trade less attractive to workers and erode a hard-won social norm: a reliable weekday off. “The Sunday must remain a predictably free day,” they warned in a joint statement. According to the Federal Statistical Office, about 8.5 per cent of German employees already work regularly on Sundays.

The reform is designed to level the playing field. The Central Association of the German Bakery Trade backs the plan, pointing to long-standing competitive disadvantages against petrol stations and convenience back-shops that already enjoy longer Sunday sales windows. A 2019 Federal Court of Justice ruling further complicated matters by allowing bakeries with seating to sell goods on Sundays without strict time limits. The new legislation aims to bring production and logistics into legal alignment.

But the details are still contested. A draft amendment to the Working Hours Act proposes capping pure production time at five hours, with an additional three hours for deliveries – totalling eight hours as well. The industry, however, is pushing for a flexible eight-hour block covering all tasks. Meanwhile, the package includes a parallel proposal to raise the tax-free threshold for Sunday bonuses from €50 to €75 per hour of base pay, and to keep surcharges fully contribution-free when governed by collective agreements.

These changes come as the bakery sector undergoes a dramatic structural shift. The number of bakery operations fell from 12,155 in 2015 to 8,659 in 2025. Employment dropped from around 275,200 to 232,000 over the same period. Revenue, however, climbed from €14 billion to over €18 billion, suggesting that fewer, larger players are capturing more value. Recruiting skilled staff remains a critical bottleneck, even as apprenticeship numbers nudge up slightly.

The package also touches areas beyond bakery hours. Public libraries would be allowed to open for up to six hours on Sundays from 2027. Less popular with the trade is a planned tripling of the flat-rate tax on mini-jobs from 2 per cent to 5 per cent. Business representatives warn that this extra cost could worsen staffing shortages and partly cancel out the benefits of more flexible Sunday work.

Politics further complicates the rollout. While economic policy-makers from the Union and SPD back the bakery-specific relaxation, a general liberalisation of Sunday shopping in retail remains overwhelmingly rejected. Moreover, Sunday trading is fundamentally a state matter. In Bavaria, a law passed in August 2025 continues to limit bakery Sunday opening to three hours, setting up potential friction with the federal framework.

For the entire reform package to take effect as planned on 1 January 2027, both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat must give their approval. The political path ahead is anything but straightforward.