A leaked letter from Greece’s creditors, the European Central Bank, the European Commission and International Monetary Fund, had details of the demand, insisting on radical labour reforms, reports the Guardian.
The officials enforcing Greece’s compliance with the austerity package have insisted on minimum wages to overtime limits to flexible working hours in exchange for a bailout. The measures are likely to worsen relations between the government and organised labour in Greece.
The letter, sent last week to the Greek finance and labour ministries, orders the government to extend the working week into the weekend.
“Measure: increase flexibility of work schedules: increase the number of maximum workdays to six days per week for all sectors.
“Increase flexibility of work schedules; set the minimum daily rest to 11 hours; de-link the working hours of employees from the opening hours of the establishment; eliminate restrictions on minimum/maximum time between morning and afternoon shifts; allow the consecutive two-week leave to be taken anytime during the year in seasonal sectors.”
The letter also calls for reform of the labour market including the national labour inspectorate to be reformed and put under European supervision.
There should be a permanent “single-rate statutory minimum wage”, seen as an incentive for getting people back to work in a country where unemployment has soared to around 30%, according to the instructions.
“Unemployment is too high, and policies are needed to prevent it from becoming structural,” the letter says.
The Greek government is struggling to find ways to cut spending of a further €11.6bn, in order to secure the next bailout of over €30bn due next month.
