The Greek Parliament has approved the controversial bill which introduces the possibility of working up to 13 hours a day, on a voluntary basis and for a maximum of 37 days a year.
The measure, strongly supported by the conservative government of Nea Dimokratiaallows companies to extend the working day beyond the ordinary 8 hours, including one hour of overtime paid with a 20% increase and up to 4 additional hours paid with 40% more.
According to the executive, the objective would be to “modernize” the labor market and compensate for vacation days, thus increasing productivity. In practice, with the extra-large days, workers would cover the equivalent of 24 standard working days, eliminating the economic loss resulting from rest periods.
The approved package – 97 articles in total – also provides for new, faster hiring and firing methods and the introduction of the four-day working week.
But while the government talks about “flexibility”, the opposition denounces “a new Middle Ages of rights” and the unions announce new general strikes. In Greece, already today, the average number of hours worked per week is among the highest in Europe: 39.8 compared to 35.8 in the EU, according to Eurostat.
Because it might not be a good idea
Well, because behind the rhetoric of “modernization” lies a measure that risks worsening the living conditions of workers, not improving them. Talking about a “voluntary” agreement in a context of precariousness and low wages means, in fact, transferring the economic pressure onto the shoulders of the employees, who will accept grueling hours out of necessity rather than by choice.
A 13-hour day undermines the right to rest, health and work-life balance, just as in many European countries the short week is being experimented with as a model of well-being and productivity. The idea that competitiveness is built by working harder — rather than better — is simply outdated.
And in Greece, where work is already among the longest and lowest paid in Europe, this law risks becoming a step backwards of decades.
