As the first country in the European Union, Greece is planning to introduce a flexible 13-hour day. The draft law is to be presented in September.
In the middle of the old town in Athens. It is shortly before nine in the evening. The small restaurant Iliada by landlady Mariza Eleonora is still well attended. Nevertheless, she will close the restaurant in the next few minutes, although she could need higher sales. But her employee has already gone home.
“Now I’m closing at 9:30 p.m., but I would also be open until 11 p.m., but I can’t because it is too exhausting for me,” says Eleonora. “My employee had to go at 8 p.m. if he continued to work, that would help me a lot.”
Six-day week already introduced
As in Germany, there is currently an eight-hour day in Greece. But the government wants to continue to flexify working hours. Last year she made it possible for a six-day week. Now the next advance: Minister of Labor Niki Kerameus advertises for a 13-hour day. Because in Greece, around 80,000 places are vacant in the tourism industry alone. “Firstly, it is a possibility, not an obligation. Second, the employee has to agree. Third, you do not need a second job as an employee,” says Kerameus.
In fact, many Greeks have several jobs. The financial crisis of the 2010s has an effect. For many, the normal content is not enough to contest the living costs-one reason why restaurant owner Mariza Eleonora is for the new 13-hour model. “I think that will help because we need employees and the employees have to work more anyway to cover their living costs.”
Upper limit for long days
However, employees should not work 13 hours at a time. According to the draft law, this is allowed at most 37 days a year. The 40-hour week remains the norm. And the overtime should be paid better, says Minister of Labor Niki Kerameus: “That means 40 percent more wages per overtime.”
Restaurant owner Mariza Eleonara would be ready to pay the surcharges. “Because I am looking for, and it is currently not easy to find someone who is familiar with the work,” she says.
But not all restaurateurs think like this: a few hundred meters further in the Saita restaurant. The boss here sees no added value in the law. “This is exhausting, maybe an employee can do it once a month,” she says. “Because there are really many hours to stand and work productively for so long.”
Criticism of unions
And there is also criticism from the employee side. The trade unionist Christos Goulas does not believe in the productivity of 13-hour days. Especially not with office jobs. It is also upset because the government has not included the unions.
He fears that the law is another step for even more flexibility. “In the age of artificial intelligence, digitization we should talk about the optimization of the quality of work. Instead, we persistently and incorrectly return to the traditional model of long working hours,” said Goulas.
The Minister of Labor, on the other hand, explains that the rights of employees are strengthened. Because this would give less undeclared work. If the draft law goes through-which is likely because the government puts the majority in parliament-Greece would be the first EU country in which a 13-hour day is possible.
