German minister draws fire for calling for longer working hours
"Germans need to work longer and harder," the country's Economy Minister, Katherina Reiche, declared in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Saturday, in a call likely to spark debate.
- Economy
- DPA
- Published Date: 09:45 | 26 July 2025
Germans need to work longer and harder, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung national daily in remarks published on Saturday.
Reiche's comments drew immediate criticism from worker representatives.
"Demographic change and increasing life expectancy make this unavoidable. Lifetime working must rise," she said.
Working for just two thirds of adult life and going on pension for a third was not possible over the longer term. Too many people had denied demographic reality for too long, Reiche said.
"We have to work harder and longer," she said. While many were working in physically arduous jobs, there were also many who could and wanted to work for longer.
Reiche noted that companies were reporting that employees worked 1,800 hours per year in the United States and only 1,340 in Germany.
She said that reforms agreed by the new centre-left government in its coalition deal would not suffice over the longer term.
"Social security systems are overloaded. The combination of non-wage labour costs, taxes and deductions are making the labour factor in Germany uncompetitive over the longer term," Reiche said.
Christian Bäumler, who heads the workers association within Reiche's own Christian Democrats, expressed criticism of the minister's remarks and noted that they had no basis in the coalition deal with Social Democrats.
"An economy minister who does not realize that Germany has a high part-time working ratio, and thus a low average annual working time is the wrong choice for the position," he said.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) also warned against raising the retirement age. "To ensure good pensions, more money must now come in on the income side of the pension insurance system," said DGB board member Anja Piel.
Tasks that benefit society as a whole, such as pensions for mothers, must be paid for out of tax revenue and not out of the pension fund, she said.
Reiche's comments drew immediate criticism from worker representatives.
"Demographic change and increasing life expectancy make this unavoidable. Lifetime working must rise," she said.
Working for just two thirds of adult life and going on pension for a third was not possible over the longer term. Too many people had denied demographic reality for too long, Reiche said.
"We have to work harder and longer," she said. While many were working in physically arduous jobs, there were also many who could and wanted to work for longer.
Reiche noted that companies were reporting that employees worked 1,800 hours per year in the United States and only 1,340 in Germany.
She said that reforms agreed by the new centre-left government in its coalition deal would not suffice over the longer term.
"Social security systems are overloaded. The combination of non-wage labour costs, taxes and deductions are making the labour factor in Germany uncompetitive over the longer term," Reiche said.
Christian Bäumler, who heads the workers association within Reiche's own Christian Democrats, expressed criticism of the minister's remarks and noted that they had no basis in the coalition deal with Social Democrats.
"An economy minister who does not realize that Germany has a high part-time working ratio, and thus a low average annual working time is the wrong choice for the position," he said.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) also warned against raising the retirement age. "To ensure good pensions, more money must now come in on the income side of the pension insurance system," said DGB board member Anja Piel.
Tasks that benefit society as a whole, such as pensions for mothers, must be paid for out of tax revenue and not out of the pension fund, she said.
OTHER ECONOMY NEWS