More time on the job

16 Jul 2004 By Edward Hadas

The French and Germans were never really lazy. But changes in international trade and demographics are making them work harder. Friction is inevitable. Unions are reluctant and politicians want to get ahead of the trend. But the trend is clear.

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Employees at a Siemens mobile telephone factory in North RhineWestphalia agreed to add five hours to their working week with no extra pay. The company had warned that without that concession production would be moved to Hungary.

DaimlerChrysler management is demanding a E500m cut in production costs in Germany, mostly to be achieved by longer working hours.

The French 35 hour week was fully inaugurated in 2002, replacing the previous limit of 39 hours. Both finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy and president Jacques Chirac have suggested that the law be revised to be more flexible. The leading French union in the private sector has broadly accepted the concept.

According to the OECD, annual working hours in the Eurozone have decreased by 12%, from 1700 to 1500, since 1980. In the US, hours have increase by 5%, from 1800 to 1900.

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