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Greece Told To Implement Six-Day Workweek By Troika: Report

By: EW News Desk Team Date: 6 September 2012

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06 September 2012

Greece’s troika of lenders – namely the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – have called on the Greek government to introduce a six-day workweek for its citizens, reported several British publications on Wednesday, in an effort to improve worker productivity and increase government revenue ahead of the country’s second bailout in three years.

A leaked letter obtained by the BBC detailed the proposal by the troika, which included other plans such as introducing a single rate statutory minimum wage, reducing regulatory burdens, creating flexible working schedules and eliminating restrictions on the minimum and maximum time between morning and afternoon shifts.

The BBC noted that the moves would “liberalise the labour market,” while MarketWatch added that Greek firms would still be able to comply with EU labour rules, which includes a directive that forbids workers from averaging more than 48 hours per week over a four-month period, even after the proposal was implemented.

"Unemployment is too high, and policies are needed to prevent it from becoming structural," wrote the troika in the letter sent to Greek finance and labour ministries last week, as cited by The Guardian.

Additionally, The Guardian also claimed that the troika had called for Greece’s national labour inspectorate to be radically reformed and put under European supervision.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis however felt that the troika's diagnosis of Greece’s labour market was "utterly erroneous", but admitted that the message would be welcome by other eurozone electorates.

"It resonates well with the average German voter, that the Greeks deserve a bit of a kicking ... and they've been having it too good for too long. So you have this confluence of false economic analysis and a stereotype in the north of Europe as to what the problem with Greece is," Varoufakis told CNN.

Varoufakis, a professor of economics at Athens University, added to Sky News that an extended working week "would not make any difference whatsoever" if it was introduced.

"Greece is an economy in depression – labour costs are very low, but what is even lower is demand for products.”

"Employers do not employ people simply because they fear there will not be any demand for their products… And the more they hear that wages will be going down in real terms, the more they fear that there won't be demand to make the world go round for them."

"The problem with the troika is that its diagnosis of the Greek crisis is completely false so all the remedies that they are coming up with are beside the point," Varoufakis said.