Business Leaders: Too Many Vacation Days

Business and economic associations in Germany said on Sunday the country should get rid of the holiday the Monday after Pentecost. The head of the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade, Anton Börner, told the Bild newspaper that Germany has too many holidays and vacation days. "Not every holiday should be work-free," said Börner, and said Pentecost was one of those days. Other business leaders said Germans needed to work more in order to maintain the country's international competitiveness. France eliminated the Monday holiday last year in order to finance a nursing-care reform package, but many French workers went on strike on Monday in protest of the new law.