GEW Berlin launches app to track teacher workload

The Education and Science Workers' Union (GEW) in Berlin has launched a digital application called ‘LehrZeit!’ to document the actual working hours of teachers. The initiative aims to make visible the extensive unpaid labor performed outside of regular classroom instruction, including lesson preparation, grading, administrative tasks, conferences, and parent consultations.

GEW leadership stated that the move is a response to the Berlin Senate's refusal to implement a mandatory, legally secure system for tracking teacher working hours. Union officials, including Gökhan Akgün and Felicia Kompio, emphasized that teachers are currently compensating for staff shortages through excessive overtime, which poses a risk to their health. The union intends to use the data collected via the app to pursue legal claims regarding working hours and to demonstrate the true extent of the workload in the Berlin school system.