Greece moves to six-day work week

The measure came into effect on July 1. The conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis considers the process necessary due to the declining population and the shortage of qualified workers that is affecting the country. According to the executive, the measure will particularly help solve the problem of unpaid overtime and undeclared work. “The essence of this legislation is pro-worker and deeply oriented towards growth,” Mitsotakis said before the Greek parliament approved the law.

48 hours per week

Concretely, this new regulation, which concerns private businesses that provide services 24 hours a day and those that face a strict workload, allows employees to offer their workers two hours a day or one additional day of work. Eight hours. In return, employees benefit from a 40% salary increase on the sixth day of work.

The Greek working week could therefore be as long as 48 hours. Before this reform, Greeks were the hardest working people in Europe, with 41 hours a week, although they earned less, as The Guardian reports. In Greece, the average salary is 900 euros a month.

“reverse path”

The move is far from unanimous. “It doesn’t make sense,” said Akis Sotiropoulos, a member of the executive committee of the civil servants’ union in Addidi. “While almost all other civilized countries are adopting the four-day week, Greece has decided to go the opposite way.”

“While almost all other civilized nations were adopting the four-day week, Greece decided to take the opposite course.”