German push for work-life balance shows ECB pay isn't everything

(Bloomberg) With Germany’s economy humming along and skilled staff hard to come by, workers at the likes of BMW, Siemens and Bosch are gunning not only for a hefty wage increase but also for time and cash to help to take care of their kids and grandparents. 

Subsidies to encourage employees to reduce working hours is at the crux of contentious contract talks between German manufacturers and IG Metall, which represents 3.9 million workers. Ahead of negotiations on Thursday in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg -- home to Porsche and Mercedes-Benz -- the country’s biggest union has rallied about 160,000 people across Germany to halt work in recent days for about an hour in so-called warning strikes. It’s threatened further escalation if the talks don’t go well.