Since this Monday, Greece has had a legislative reform in force that allows a six-day working week up to a total of 48 hours of voluntary work, an initiative to improve productivity and attract foreign investment. The initiative by the conservative government led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also aims to improve the use of qualified workers and reduce the shadow economy.
Inflation forced many workers to look for a second job, but this measure aims to improve the conditions of a single job. The extension of working hours will only apply to certain sectors, such as factories or small businesses, as well as companies that provide uninterrupted services. Tourism and the hotel and restaurant sector were excluded.
The measure was harshly criticized by unions, who consider it contrary to labor rights and emphasize that it goes against the trend recorded in other European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, France, Iceland and the United Kingdom. Kingdom, which propose reducing the number of weekly hours to less than 40 or even reducing the number of working days from five to four, with shifts of ten instead of eight hours.
For Akis Sotiropoulos, from the public employees union Adedy, “this is barbaric”. “It doesn’t make any sense. When almost every other civilized country applies a four-day week, Greece decides to go in the opposite direction,” he lamented.
