German workers strike for right to two-year, 28-hour working week

More than 15,000 workers down tools at 80 companies as part of metalwork union’s campaign to improve work-life balance

Workers have downed tools at more than 80 companies across Germany as the country’s biggest union stepped up its campaign for a 28-hour working week to allow employees to improve their work-life balance.

In what is shaping up to be the biggest industrial dispute in the metalwork sector in three decades, more than 15,000 employees took part in warning strikes at factories including those of the carmaker Porsche.

The IG Metall union, which represents around 3.9 million workers, wants every employee in the metal and electrical sector to have the option to reduce their working hours for a total period of two years, with the automatic right to return to full-time employment afterwards.

Read more at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/08/german-metal-workers-strike-in-bid-to-gain-28-hour-working-weeks