A recession is not a good time to ask for a pay rise. So why not push for a four-day working week instead?
Metall, Germany’s biggest trade union, is mulling other perks its metal-bashing members might extract from employers. On August 15th its boss, Jörg Hofmann, told theGerman workers should not make Friday leisure plans just yet. Employers have not responded—it is mid-August, after all—but they are likely to put up a fight.
If you think no worker would object to a three-day weekend, think again. Even fans fret about trade-offs. Workers could face longer hours from Monday to Thursday, or a cut in pay. Some employers, notably technology startups, already dangle longer weekends to recruit sought-after brainboxes, or offer flexible hours. But a five-day slog will probably remain the norm in lower-paid jobs, where productivity gains from more rest are less obvious.Metall’s timing is not coincidental.
German workers face problems beyond covid-19. The car industry that underpins blue-collar jobs has been slow to shift to electric vehicles, let alone driverless ones.Metall thinks cutting hours will allow firms to retain expertise needed for the transition, without the expense and bad publicity of sacking workers, only to have to rehire some later if prospects improve.Metall goes others often follow, in Germany and beyond.
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