Greece: Troika asks government to liberalize the labor market faster

Working time.  The Greek and British press have reported letters sent last week to the Ministries of Finance and of Labor asking to bring the work week up to 6 days across the economy to boost the labor market’s competitiveness.  They also suggest: a) limiting daily rest to 11 hours instead of 12; b) removing team rotations in the morning and in the afternoon; c) stopping adjusting employees’ working hours to the companies’ opening hours; and d) providing for the possibility for seasonal workers of taking two weeks off in a row any time of the year.  The Troika is also recommending reforming the Labor Inspectorate, otherwise it may be supervised by Europe.
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eness. They
also suggest: a) limiting daily rest to 11 hours instead of 12; b) removing
team rotations in the morning and in the afternoon; c) stopping adjusting
employees’ working hours to the companies’ opening hours; and d) providing for
the possibility for seasonal workers of taking two weeks off in a row any time
of the year. The Troika is also recommending reforming the Labor
Inspectorate, otherwise it may be supervised by Europe.

Reducing businesses’ contributions. While unemployment r

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