According to the government, the measure reduces the shadow economy and improves the conditions for single employment. Trade unions consider the reform to be contrary to labour rights and European trends.
Since Monday, Greece has implemented a legislative reform that allows a six-day work week for a total of 48 hours of voluntary work, an initiative to improve productivity and attract foreign investment.
The initiative of the conservative government led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also aims to improve the use of skilled workers and reduce the parallel economy.
TO inflation forced many workers to look for a second job, but this measure aims to improve the conditions of a unique job.
The extension of working hours will only apply to certain sectors, such as factories or small businesses, as well as companies that provide services on an uninterrupted basis. 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 observed in other European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, France, Iceland and the United Kingdom, which propose the reduction in the number of weekly hours to less than 40 or even reduce the number of working days from five to four, with ten-hour shifts instead of eight.
For Akis Sotiropoulos, from the public employees union Adedy, “This is barbaric“.
“It makes no sense. When almost all other civilised countries are applying the four-day week, Greece is choosing to go in the opposite direction,” he lamented.
Source: Observadora
