If you thought you would work the same number of hours whether you are in the US, Germany or India, you may be in for a surprise! There are a set number of maximum working hours for every country. For instance, India has a
workweek of 48 hours, China of 40 hours and Australia of 44 hours. Sometimes, it is set by law and made statutory and sometimes it is through negotiations between the employers and the unions. The 35-hour week in Europe is presently mired in controversy. Employers are demanding an increase in the working hours without a corresponding increase in pay, a move that the unions are resisting.

However, many European corporate majors are pushing ahead. Siemens, Germany’s fourth largest private employer with a payroll of 1,67,000, has increased the working hours per week from 35 to 40 without a corresponding increase in wages. The decision is expected to decrease labor costs by 10-15%, which would be highly beneficial for the company that has recently suffered losses. Employees were forced to agree to the policy for fear of the plant being shifted to Hungary, a low cost area. The shift would have led to about 2000 layoffs in Germany.