"German industrial leaders want to return workers to a 40-hour workweek without raising wages, which would effectively reduce hourly labor costs by 13%." The 35-hour workweek in the metal and automotive industries was achieved by the IG Metall union after a seven-week strike in 1984 and became the standard in 1995. Currently, production volumes in German industry are 15% lower than the peak in 2017, labor costs are €49.5 per hour (47% higher than the #EU average)