Stinnes–Legien Agreement

[1] Named after both parties' negotiators in chief, the heavy industry magnate Hugo Stinnes and the union leader Carl Legien, the agreement enshrined a set of workers' rights long coveted by the German labour movement.

Among the stipulations of the treaty were the introduction of the eight-hour working day, the recognition of the trade unions as the official representation of the workforce, and the permission to form workers' councils in firms with more than 50 employees.

Towards the end of the First World War, Germany's trade unions and industrial employers were faced with the prospect of millions of demobilised soldiers returning to the domestic labour market.

[2] In the wake of the overthrow of the imperial administrations, the social-democratic provisional government under Chancellor Friedrich Ebert looked to co-operate with the elites in order to prevent an escalation of far-left revolutionary efforts.

The agreement also introduced the eight-hour day, allowed for the creation of workers' councils in firms with more 50 employees, and issued a guarantee that returning soldiers would have a right to their pre-war job.