Overview
- Tourism commissioner Christoph Ploß said the reform replacing the daily eight‑hour limit with a weekly maximum should be approved in 2026.
- The SPD‑led Labor Ministry plans to table a bill in the first half of the year after talks showed positions remain far apart, and it says the draft will meet EU working‑time rules.
- Hospitality groups including Dehoga and broader tourism associations welcomed the shift, arguing it delivers needed flexibility and planning certainty for demand spikes.
- Unions such as NGG and ver.di warned of health risks and poorer work‑life balance, calling the move an attack on worker protections.
- Parallel political proposals intensify the dispute: the CDU’s business wing seeks to curb the legal right to part‑time work, drawing SPD pushback, while conservatives also discuss minimum‑wage exceptions for seasonal farm labor.