FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - The trade union powerhouse that won the 35-hour work week for Germans more than two decades ago is mobilising for a new campaign to reduce working hours at annual wage negotiations about to kick off nationwide.
IG Metall, Germany's biggest union with 2.3 million workers mainly in the car and manufacturing industries, says shorter hours will help shift workers and those who need to care for children or elderly relatives, with wide implications for how German society evolves in the 21st century.