Berlin has abandoned plans to abolish Germany's national holiday to boost the economy, prompting opposition calls for a return to the 40-hour week.
The proposal was already discussed earlier this year and prompted the government to reiterate its opposition to an across-the-board abolishment of the 35-hour-week. "It's a matter for the social partners," said a spokesman in Berlin.
However, Mr Michael Rogowski, president of the BDI, the German employers' federation, said the 40-hour week "would be the equivalent of abolishing 11 holidays".
Mr Edmund Stoiber, the Bavarian state leader, said that abolishing holidays would not achieve anything and that "everyone in Germany needs to work more".
"That means reintroducing the 40-hour working week on the factory floor and offices," he said. "Bavaria has the most public holidays in Germany and also the highest growth."
Economic experts warned yesterday that returning to the 40-hour working week was not the "cure-all" some politicians claimed.
"Instead, companies need to have the possibility to increase or decrease the working time as needed; that is the decisive criteria," said Mr Herbert Busche of the Halle Economics Institute (IWH) to the Handelsblatt business newspaper.
Regardless of official government policy, many leading German companies are creeping back towards the 40-hour week .
Electronics giant Siemens this year pushed through huge wage cost savings at its plants in Germany by threatening to close down and move production to lower-cost Hungary.
A survey released yesterday showed that, despite the official 35-hour-week policy, Germans work on average 37 hours.
Official data from the Federal Institute for Employment (IAB) shows the effective working week is 39.9 hours.
The government was castigated last week for its suggestion to abolish the October 3rd holiday, the date in 1990 when the two Germanys united.
"It could have been done better," remarked a government spokesman of the plan, and the subsequent u-turn. He added that the Chancellor, Mr Schröder was open to cash-saving suggestions as Berlin tries to stimulate the economy.
