Workers in Greece may now be required to work up to 48 hours a week after a new law came into effect on Monday. Image: CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2022– Source: EP, via Flickr.
Greece has introduced a six-day workweek in an effort to boost productivity, prompting sharp criticism from labour unions and political analysts.
As of Monday 1 July, the new legislation allows select industrial and manufacturing facilities to extend employees’ workweeks up to 48 hours.
Businesses that provide 24/7 services are also included in the longer workweek, though foodservice and tourism workers will not be affected.
The government of conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis endorsed the initiative last September as part of broader set of labour laws.
“The nucleus of this legislation is worker-friendly, it is deeply growth-oriented, and it brings Greece in line with the rest of Europe,” said Mitsotakis.
The New Democracy-led government said the six-day workweek was made necessary by Greece’s shrinking population and a shortage of skilled labourers.
About 500,000 Greeks are estimated to have emigrated from the Southeast-European nation since the debt crisis began in late 2009, most of them young and educated.
Mitsotakis called Greece’s projected demographic shift a “ticking timebomb” prior to the legislation’s announcement.
However, the move has drawn criticism from labour unions and political observers.
European Politics professor at Maynooth University John O’Brennan described the new law as “ridiculous” in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Greek people already work the longest hours per week in Europe,” said O’Brennan. “Now they may be forced to work a sixth day, after this Greek [government] decision.”
According to statistics agency Eurostat, Greeks worked 41 hours a week on average in 2022, compared to the European Union average of 37.5 — surveys have also proved they are paid much less for their labour.
Public sector trade union ADEDY executive committee member Akis Sotiropoulos said, “It makes no sense whatsoever.”
“When almost every other civilised country is enacting a four-day week, Greece decides to go the other way,” said Sotiropoulos.
“Better productivity comes with better work conditions, a better quality of life and that, we now know, is about less hours, not more.”
Research has repeatedly shown four-day workweeks to increase levels of worker productivity while decreasing stress and the risk of burnout.
“In reality, this has been passed by a government ideologically committed to generating even bigger profits for capital,” said Sotiropoulos.
