Germany
After the 14-week strike earlier this year the new collective agreement covering regional government employees came into effect on 1 November. The central element of the agreement was on working time where ver.di and the other public service unions had successfully resisted attempts by the employers to introduce an increase for all workers. A formula based on the average of hours worked by full-time workers was used to work out the new weekly working hours which vary across the nine regions in western Germany: Baden-Württemberg 39 hours, 30 minutes; Bayern 40 hours, 06 minutes; Bremen 39 hours, 12 minutes; Hamburg 39 hours; Niedersachsen 39 hours, 48 minutes; Nord Rhein-Westfalen 39 hours, 50 minutes; Rheinland-Pfalz 39 hours; Saarland 39 hours, 30 minutes and Schleswig-Holstein 38 hours, 42 minutes. Workers in arduous occupations remain on the previous 38.5 hours a week. In eastern Germany there was a one-hour reduction in the basic working week from 40 to 39 hours.
Read more at > ver.di (DE)
