While many countries are experimenting with a four-day work week, Greece is moving in the opposite direction. The southern European country on Monday introduced a six-day week for some companies, as enshrined in a package of labor laws passed last year. CNBC“Employees of private companies that provide 24-hour services will be given the option of working an extra two hours or an extra eight-hour shift per day, totalling 48 hours per week instead of the usual 40 hours over a five-day work week,” the media outlet said. Workers who are up to the task of working these extra hours will be “paid a 40 percent surcharge on their daily wages,” the outlet reported. Guardian.
Various experiments with a four-day work week have demonstrated increased productivity and improved focus, while Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ pro-business government has touted a six-day week as “pro-growth” and “worker-friendly” to address issues such as undeclared work, unfair overtime pay, a shortage of skilled workers and a declining population. But trade unions have denounced the move as “barbaric.” Guardian“Critics argue that the reform ultimately sounds the death knell for the five-day work week,” the outlet noted, in part because private employers would be able to decide whether to require a sixth day.
“It makes absolutely no sense,” said Akis Sotiropoulos of the Adedi civil servants union. Guardian“Increased productivity leads to better working conditions and improved quality of life. [for employees]Jens Bastian, an expert at the German Institute for International and Security Studies, said workers could be fired if they refused to work longer hours. Deutsche WelleGiorgos Katsambekis, a political researcher at Britain’s Loughborough University, added that this is a “huge setback” for workers who are already among the longest-working in the European Union, according to CNBC. Greek workers will work an average of 1,886 hours in 2022, above the EU average of 1,571 hours and the U.S. average of 1,811 hours. (See more Greek news.)
