“It’s not 6-day work week. It’s 5+1 extra day,” says Greek Minister

Reports about the 6-day working week is “Fake News,” Labor Minister Niki Kerameos said on Friday. “The rule of 5-day week does not change at all, it is just that the possibility is given exceptionally in very specific cases for one day of extraordinary work.”

The Minister’s statement that is beyond any logic and common sense, comes after even international media criticized in full irony that while European countries are moving toward a 4-day week, Greece increases the weekly labor to six days.

Greece has become a case study of failure. On all aspects. pic.twitter.com/v1RCgYHyNp

— Blondie (@Nimia82076477) July 4, 2024

In an interview with state broadcaster ERT, the Minister of Labor and Social Security emphasized that the possibility for four-day work that has been established as well as for other flexible – for the employees – forms of work remains in force.

She reiterated that the 5+1 measure concerns only businesses with continuous operation such as factories, for example, that have continuous operation, continuous production, rolling shifts and in which there was a lack of the necessary human resources.

“6 days what would it mean? That each worker instead of having 5 days, has 6 days. This is not the case” she emphasized and mentioned that all insurance policies are fully valid,” the minister said.

“Daily rest and mandatory weekly rest and how many hours in total you can work in a reference period of four months are also mandatory. So all the safeguards    are there” she added.

She went further to say that “in most European countries there is the possibility of an extraordinary working day. So Greece is not doing anything different here. And what’s more, it has already been adapted to a more flexible format.”

With regard to the extension of the measure to tourism and catering, she underlined that a very detailed dialogue will precede with all the bodies of the specific sectors, while with regard to the observance of labor legislation, she emphasized that fines of more than 40 million euros per year are now collected from the controls which are made by the Labor Inspectorate.

PS the Minister’s 5+1 not 6 days is the most fck-logic statement by a Greek conservative minister in 2024, so far.