"Our employees earn good money, so they can work as much as the rest of the world," announced Manfred Wennemer of German car parts manufacturer Continental AG.

In an interview with Die Welt newspaper the CEO justified his reason for extending the company's work week from 37.5 to 40 hours, a decision that sent ripples through the engineering sector and alerted labor leaders to what is likely to become a contentious debate in 2006.