Six-day week possible in Greece

The Greeks already have the most weekly working hours in the EU. However, the country has been struggling with a labor shortage since the financial crisis. To address the issue, a Six-Day Week is now being introduced. Employers in Greece can now offer their employees the opportunity to work six days instead of the previous five. This offer could be beneficial for employees: They receive a legal supplement of 40% more salary for the sixth workday, which amounts to 115% additional pay for Sundays and holidays. With this, the Greeks could potentially work more than they already do: They record the most weekly working hours within the EU.

Trade unions criticize the law despite the planned additional wage increases, but Labor Minister Adonis Georgiadis remains unfazed: "There is a significant labor shortage, especially in industry, and overtime is being worked - and much of it is being paid under the table," he argued during the debate on the law in parliament. With this new regulation, everyone would have the right to extra paid special engagements, and black market work would be pushed back.

The labor shortage in Greece is mainly due to the severe financial crisis of the country between 2010 and 2018. At that time, the country was on the brink of bankruptcy, and hundreds of thousands of well-educated young people emigrated to seek their fortune abroad.

From this "brain drain," Greece has not yet recovered, even though the economy is improving. The labor shortage, despite an unemployment rate of currently around 11%, affects not only industrial companies and the IT sector, but above all agriculture and tourism. However, the conservative Greek government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is pursuing other solutions in these areas. For example, efforts are being made to acquire seasonal labor for the harvest and as service and cleaning labor from Egypt, India, and other emerging countries.

CSU Chief Söder Praises Greece's Concept

The new law on the Six-Day Week, however, targets companies that must maintain operations for 12 or even 24 hours a day and seven days a week - such as industrial companies, but also telecommunications companies and other service providers. The public sector and state-owned enterprises also belong to the target group. The image of the lazy Greeks, as they were portrayed in numerous international, especially German media during the financial crisis, is once again refuted. According to Eurostat, the statistics agency, the Greeks lead the European ranking in weekly working hours with 39.8 hours. For Germany, the list shows an average of 34 weekly hours.

However, the Greeks should not work overtime according to the new law from Athens: 48 hours per week is the maximum. Markus Söder, CSU chairman, recently praised the Greek concept in the German media and called on Germans to work more. "In Greece, there is now, for example, a Six-Day Week, while we are discussing a Four-Day Week in Germany. We will not catch up this way. We need to work more, but more work must also pay off," he told the "Bild-Zeitung."

Despite the criticism from trade unions, Politics in Greece has introduced a Six-Day Week to address the Skills shortage in the labor market, particularly in industries like manufacturing and agriculture, which are significantly affected by the shortage.
Athens, as part of Greece, is leading the EU in weekly working hours with an average of 39.8 hours, a record that the country has held since the financial crisis, contributing to the ongoing Skills shortage in the Labor market.
The Skills shortage in Greece, stemming from the financial crisis, has led to a political shift in Working hours, with the introduction of a Six-Day Week, a move praised by CSU Chairman Markus Söder, who suggested Germany could learn from this approach.