Workers Walk Out Across Germany as Debate Over 13-Hour Shifts Intensifies
09.06.2026 - 01:23:05 | boerse-global.de
A wave of walkouts is sweeping through German manufacturing, retail, and public services as the government’s plan to scrap the traditional eight-hour day fuels a deepening standoff between unions and employers. With a high-level meeting looming on June 10, the battle over work schedules is colliding with real-world disputes over pay and job security.
In the northwestern town of Varel, members of the food-and-restaurant union NGG downed tools at the Bahlsen biscuit factory today. Talks with the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry collapsed after employers offered a wage increase of less than two percent, against the union’s demand of 5.8 percent. Further protests have already taken place in Barsinghausen, Langenhausen, and Hannover. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for June 22.
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The industrial action is not confined to confectionery. On June 6, the Verdi union staged walkouts across Hesse’s retail sector, drawing up to 700 participants daily at outlets including Ikea, H&M, Primark, and Kaufland. Verdi is demanding a monthly increase of €250 for regular staff and €150 for trainees. Talks resume on June 11.
The coming days promise even larger demonstrations. The IG Metall union has called for a major rally in Berlin on June 12, set against the backdrop of a steel industry in crisis. Soaring energy costs and falling output pushed crude steel production to 34.1 million tonnes in 2025 – the lowest figure since 2009. ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe plans to cut roughly 11,000 jobs. In the healthcare sector, hospitals and Verdi are mobilising for a June 11 protest in Berlin against the planned Contribution Rate Stabilisation Act, warning of cuts to nursing budgets and weaker refinancing of tariff increases. Bavaria’s hospitals alone face a projected deficit of €1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the VRFF union began a 24-hour warning strike today at Westdeutscher Rundfunk. The fifth round of talks in the public-sector broadcasting dispute is set for Wednesday, with the union rejecting an offer that includes a pay freeze for the current year. In the Harz region, negotiations for local public transport remain unresolved.
These flare-ups are unfolding against a bitter political debate over a reform of Germany’s Working Time Act. The government’s proposal would replace the current daily maximum of eight hours – or ten under specific conditions – with a weekly limit, potentially allowing shifts of up to 13 hours. DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi attacked the plan today, calling it “economically and socially misguided” and an “ideologically-driven wrong turn.” The Social Association of Germany (SoVD) threw its weight behind her: board member Michaela Engelmeier argued on June 6 that a 13-hour day is incompatible with real life, especially for workers without union contracts who rely on the law for protection. SPD politician Bärbel Bas also urged caution yesterday, insisting that worker protection must not be compromised, though she did not rule out more flexible models.
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Employers are pushing back. BDA managing director Steffen Kampeter defended the reform on June 6, saying flexibility is a crucial productivity factor, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence. The current rules, he argued, date from the last century and no longer fit a modern workplace.
With talks set to resume in multiple sectors and the June 10 summit approaching, neither side shows signs of backing down.
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