Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil spoke out against the nationwide introduction of a four-day work week.
Such a model can make sense in individual cases, for example, so that a company is attractive to employees, said the SPD politician on Sunday evening in the ZDF program “Berlin direkt”. But: “I can’t imagine that for all sectors.”
Instead, more work flexibility over the course of life is more important. Work must fit better with life – for example, when parents take care of their children or relatives take care of those in need of care. But a rigid system is wrong, explained Heil.
The discussion about this has been going on for years and boiled up again before May 1st. There was encouragement from the SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken, IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann can well imagine the four-day week at least for industrial workers. Employers are against it, and the FDP is also skeptical. (dpa)
