John Galvin, head of the German beverage bottling company Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), has called for the reintroduction of an unpaid first day of sick leave.

"Compared to the countries where Coca-Cola Europacific Partners produces, we have a noticeably high sickness rate here in Germany," Galvin told the Funke Media Group newspapers. "In countries where there are restrictions on continued salary payments, we have significantly lower sickness rates." Reintroducing the so-called waiting day would be the easiest way to implement, says Galvin.

He pointed to Sweden. "There, Coca-Cola has a sickness rate of 3.5 percent. In Germany, with almost identical working conditions, we're at 9 percent. It's obvious that something is going wrong," the manager said. If sickness rates are reduced, productivity increases, he concluded. Galvin described labor costs in Germany as "very high." "They are 30 percent above the European average. We were able to compensate for this for years with good productivity. But that has slowed down. So we need to become more productive again," he demanded. The Coca-Cola executive also advocated for reforming statutory pensions and private pension plans, suggesting that Sweden, the US, or the UK could be a model for this. "Their pension funds ensure that a lot of money ends up in the capital markets. This, in turn, leads to investments, and the economy benefits," said Galvin, a native of Ireland. With a view to demographic change in Germany, he recommended allowing those who want to work longer. "But it must also be said that the structures and level of organization in Germany are very good, so we can compensate for a lot," he added. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is the bottler of Coca-Cola beverages. Production takes place at 13 plants nationwide, and CCEP employs around 6,500 people in Germany.