From Monday, July 1, a six-day working week was introduced in Greece due to a reduction in the working-age population and a shortage of qualified employees.
Trade unions directly criticize the government for this initiative, calling it a barbaric measure.
— This doesn’t make sense at all. When almost every other civilized country introduces a four-day workweek, Greece decides to go in the opposite direction, — says Akis Sotiropoulos, a member of the executive committee of the Adedy civil servants' union.
48 hour work week in Greece — government position
At the same time, official Athens claims that this has become a necessary measure due to the danger of population decline and a shortage of skilled workers.
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Independent estimates suggest that around 500,000 young, educated Greeks emigrated at the end of 2009, when the country suffered a nearly decade-long debt crisis.
The six-day scheme will only apply to private businesses providing 24-hour services, officials said.
At the same time, employees will be able to work two additional hours a day or an additional shift of eight hours, for which they will receive a bonus of 40%.
—The core of this legislation is worker-friendly and deeply focused on industrial growth. And it puts Greece on par with the rest of Europe, — said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the day the law was passed.
