This has allowed them to be highly productive, highly paid & with high profitability. If I recall correctly, they work less hours on average and have more holidays compared to rest of Europe.
Sorry Breakfast......simply not true. I spend half of my time over there and if it is correct that germans sit around a table and walk out with a compromise, it is also true that work relationships have deteriorated a lot in the last year.
German TV has come up with numerous reports about the rise of burn out cases at work.
10 years ago, Gerhart Schröder, the then Chnacelor, came out with a plan that was supposed to make Germany poor competitiveness the star of Europe.
This was mainly achieved by an iron fisted control over salaries and benefits in order to spare employers.
It didn't go without casualties and the famous law HARTZ 4, bearing the name of the poor functionary who wrote them, sent a lot of unproductive people packing and the lucky one's on temp work.
You have to admire the Germans, for they bit the bullet for 10 years rising to where they are today. Which explains why no Greek is going to bust their nuts calling them NAZI 's which they do just because the germans do not want to cough up free money to they can go on doing...eeeeeeeeh....no one knows exactly.......but it costs a lot !!!!!
German Air Traffic controlers just had a bitter dispute with their employer and threats of strike where ruled illegal a couple of times. The mere threat created chaos. One thing the germans hate.....is uncertainty.
They finally reached an agreement and with very minimum disruption to the travelling public.
The same thing in Spain finished with the minister of Justice prosecuting them immediatly after 3 days of total Armagedon. For what ?? a big fat ZILCH !
So, you're right. The kind of stunt Alan Joyce is putting up would never ever take place in Germany..........but all isn't rosy. Still, great place !
They do not have more holliday than the rest of Europe, they very much average what the french have but when a german is at work.......HE IS !
No Friday lunch that last well into the afternoon and quiet convieniently .....'bridge with the week end.......'if you get my drift !
One more thing......no Lufthansa pilot would deem to walk around with a silly red tie making useless PA adress and would not take his grievance to the public. I tell you, wen zey are at woerk.....zey arrrrre !