The eight-hour day has been in force in Germany for generations.

Verdi chairman Frank Werneke is taking a stand on Labor Day against the CDU/CSU and SPD's plans to reform working hours for employees in Germany. "This will make 13 hours of continuous work possible and legally permissible," Werneke said in a statement. "Thousands upon thousands of employees in retail, parcel delivery, logistics, care, and many other sectors are being put under massive pressure," said the union chairman. "The strain is becoming unbearable."

According to the coalition agreement, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Red Party (SPD) want to introduce the possibility of a weekly rather than a daily maximum working time. Occupational safety standards and existing rest period regulations are to be maintained.

The eight-hour day has been in effect in Germany since 1918. The Working Hours Act now states: "The working hours of employees on a working day may not exceed eight hours." Only in exceptional cases are ten hours per day permitted.

Werneke warned that "under the guise of alleged bureaucracy reduction," the welfare state and protective rights were being attacked. This was the case, for example, with the Working Hours Act. There is no shortage of work in Germany. "Employees are putting off 600 million hours of overtime and are unable to reduce them due to the workload," Werneke said.