Philipp Türmer, the chair of the Juso organization, criticized CDU leader Friedrich Merz, accusing him of disrespecting the needs of workers by pushing for a mandatory four-day work week. Türmer told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that, in his view, Merz does not recognize the exhaustion prevalent in the country; rather, he exacerbates it. He dismissed the push for an eight-hour day as not merely an optimistic suggestion, but a provocation. Türmer argued that maximum working hours are necessary to protect individuals from becoming disabled-whether through burnout or joint damage-at the age of fifty. He stressed that employees cannot simply be handed over to the whim of their employers. According to him, enabling nearly thirteen hours of back-to-back work constitutes a social and political regression.
Rather than demanding changes from others, Türmer challenged Merz to first work harder himself. “Given the everyday mistakes made by his government, he should direct this demand to himself first” stated the head of the SPD’s youth organization. He reminded the public that Germany’s 42 million employees have already endured the brunt of cutbacks during crises in recent years. Therefore, Türmer asserted that if Merz demands a willingness to change at the DGB national congress, it is a laughable and unwarranted expectation.