Creditors Demand Six-Day Workweek for Greece

Posted on Sep 5, 2012

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A leaked letter from Greece’s lenders—the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—orders the country to introduce a six-day workweek as part of a package of austerity demands for a second bailout.

“Measure: increase flexibility of work schedules: increase the number of maximum workdays to six days per week for all sectors,” the letter read.

The letter also insists on a standard, single-rate minimum wage, deregulation of the labor market, the lowering of non-wage labor costs and the cutting of employers’ welfare contributions.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The Guardian:

In the letter, the officials policing Greece’s compliance with the austerity package imposed in return for the bailout insist on radical labour market reforms, from minimum wages to overtime limits to flexible working hours, that are likely to worsen the standoff between the government and organised labour in Greece.

… Extending the deadlines would effectively require more eurozone help and a third bailout. There is little appetite for more rescue funds across the eurozone, meaning that Greece may ultimately be sacrificed.

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