VW workers slam brakes on after-hours emails

The tyranny of the out-of-hours email from the boss has plagued workers the world over ever since the introduction of the BlackBerry.

Now, after years of subjugation, one group of workers has struck a blow for freedom: 1000 employees of the German car giant Volkswagen.

In a move designed to restore the sacred Teutonic concept of "feierabend" - strictly no work out of factory hours - the vehicle maker's works council, backed by its most powerful trade union, this year struck an agreement with the company that from now on email will be disabled for the selected BlackBerry-equipped staff when they are not in the office.

These employees now receive emails only from half an hour before the start of working hours and half an hour after they end. They can still receive and make phone calls.

Hans-Joachim Thust, a workers' spokesman, suggested that mobile phones and BlackBerry handsets could disrupt family life and lead to employee burn-out. "The new possibilities of communication also contain inherent dangers."

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