9-5, Monday to Saturdays: why one country now has a 6-day work week

When you think about Greece you probably think about a laid back country with a slower working rhythm. But that is hardly the case: on July 1, 2024, a much disputed measure came into place: companies can now ask their employees to work six days a week.

The notoriously pro-business government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the initiative has become necessary due to the threat of a shrinking population and a shortage of skilled workers. "The core of this legislation is pro-worker and profoundly growth-oriented," Mitsotakis said, according to The Guardian.

According to CNBC, the new law, passed last year as part of a broader package of labor laws, gives employees of private companies who work continuous shifts the option to work two additional hours per day or an extra eight hour shift.

Companies can introduce a sixth working day if the salary corresponding to the sixth day is paid 40% higher. If the sixth day falls on a Sunday, the salary must also be increased by 115%. If the employee works night shifts, they receive 25% more, according to El País.

"It is important to note that this measure has no impact on the legally established five-day week. Rather, it is intended to cover urgent operational needs that cannot be met with the available supply of skilled workers," a spokesman for the Greek Labour Ministry told the BBC.

The law was presented last August by the then Minister of Labour (now Minister of Health) Adonis Georgiadis and is therefore known as the "Georgiadis Law." The minister is a controversial figure on the Greek right. According to El País, he comes from the defunct far-right group LAOS and is a well-known historical revisionist.

As The Guardian reports, Greeks work the most hours in Europe, averaging 41 hours per week, according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat. However, surveys have also shown that they receive significantly less pay.

The law was met with criticism and resistance from the opposition and especially from the unions. "In reality, this was approved by a government that is ideologically focused on generating ever greater profits for capital," Akis Sotiropoulos, a member of the executive committee of the civil servants' union Adedy, told The Guardian. "Higher productivity comes with better working conditions and a better quality of life [for employees], and this is about fewer hours, not more."

According to El País, the General Confederation of Greek Workers fears that once the labor reform comes into force, the number of accidents at work will increase even further due to increasing fatigue among workers. Last year, 179 people died in work accidents in Greece and 287 were seriously injured.

The law is an unprecedented measure in Europe, where the reduction of working hours is already being discussed and implemented in many countries. In Spain, the government has agreed to reduce the normal working day from the current 40 hours per week to 37.5 hours during this legislative period. In 2022, Belgium gave workers the right to spread their working week over four days instead of five, and tests have been carried out in countries such as the United Kingdom or Germany with satisfactory results.

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