11 million hours of overtime, 5.9 million of which were unpaid – that is the balance sheet for employees in Nuremberg in 2024. This was analyzed by the Pestel Institute in its „Working Hours Monitor.“ This imbalance is now being heavily criticized by the Food, Beverages, and Catering Union (NGG), which commissioned the analysis. However, they fear that the situation will worsen even further.
In a press release, the union warns that this number could rise even further. The reason for this is the federal government’s plans to revise working time regulations. Instead of an eight-hour day, there would be a new maximum weekly working time, which would allow people to work longer than eight hours on individual days: „The CDU/SPD coalition wants to abolish the maximum weekly working hours and the eight-hour day,“ says Regina Schleser from NGG Nuremberg-Fürth. Working hours of up to ten hours a day are already possible, but the federal government’s plans would make twelve hours a day possible.
More freedom and flexibility for employees?
In an interview with ARD, Holger Schäfer from the Institute of the German Economy (IW) expressed support for such an initiative: Employees could have more flexibility in arranging their work hours. It would be possible to work twelve hours on one day and only four on another. Proponents hope this will lead to greater flexibility and a better work-life balance.
Union voices heavy criticism
The NGG disagrees with this argument: If the eight-hour workday is abolished, only European law would limit working hours. "Employers could then even impose 73.5-hour work weeks on their employees—specifically, six days with 12 hours and 15 minutes at work. This would be nearly double the current weekly workload, essentially stretching work hours to the maximum," said Schleser of the NGG in the press release.
Should employers in Nuremberg—and across Germany—resort to such new relaxations, it would threaten both employee health and the balance between family and work: "Anyone who has to juggle family, career, and caring for relatives needs one thing above all—predictable and reliable working hours. And these must align with the childcare times at the daycare and after-school care centers." Regina Schleser therefore asks: "Who will pick up the children there when shifts last twelve hours?"