German printing employers and the ver.di service workers' union have agreed to a contract which keeps the 35-hour work week largely in tact. The length of the working week had been a contentious issue, and the union repeatedly staged short walkouts during the long-running talks, as well as threatening to put a strike vote to the membership. Employers had wanted to give individual companies the chance to opt out of the 35-hour week, but said they were unable to obtain what they "originally envisioned in terms of reform."
See "Union, employers reach pay deal for workers", Associated Press, The Boston Globe, June 15, 2005