Not The Onion: Eurozone Demands Six-Day Work Week for Greece
September 5th, 2012Via: Guardian:
Greece’s eurozone creditors are demanding that the government in Athens introduce a six-day working week as part of the stiff terms for the country’s second bailout.
The demand is contained in a leaked letter from the “troika” of the country’s lenders, the European commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund. 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.
Um, look, it has to be said: the Greeks are not victims, here (except perhaps in the sense of the average Greek being at the mercy of large forces beyond his or her control). Read Michael Lewis’ /Boomerang/, among other sources, to get a sense of how fiscally irresponsible the Greeks have been. They cooked their national books in order to join the Euro, which effectively allowed them to “borrow” the credit rating of the more responsible countries in the Euro Zone. And now, well, here they are, having lived beyond their means for too long. (Sound familiar?)
A six day work week, as an imposed requirement, seems like something out of a Snidely Whiplash melodrama (“You must pay the rent!” “But I can’t pay the rent!”…). More importantly, how the hell would something like that be imposed?
No, I can’t see such a requirement sticking; it’s not feasible. But the Greeks are going to have to face their reality, somehow, probably by selling off large parts of the country to creditors (“The Parthenon, brought to you by ExxonMobile and Nordic Investment Bank…”). Distasteful? Absolutely. But no one forced them to overspend, to live beyond their means, to tolerate cartoonish levels of corruption…
The real danger, here, is that putting all this pressure on the Greeks will lead to a backlash. Has no one studied history? Look at the etiological connections between the Treaty of Versailles and WWII. If you strip a people of dignity and hope, you will reap the consequences. In the elections this past Spring, the Greek answer to the Nazi Party, Golden Dawn, won almost 7% of the popular vote (going from 0 representatives to 18). As the misery for the average Greek continues, the populace will become increasingly radicalized, and fringe ideologies will take center stage as people become desperate for a way out…
You talk about “Greeks” like they’re all in on it together. By that logic, you’re as responsible for the $16 trillion U.S. debt as Bush or Obama or the crooks who pull their strings. You should go to debtors prison because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example.
Fiscally irresponsible Americans. *sheesh* There oughta be a law!
@Kevin Thanks, that was my thought as well.
The rulers in the Greek government may not be victims, as they obviously cooked the books to get into this mess. The Greek people are clearly victims as this entire game was designed to enslave them.
The Six-Day work week seems to be merely a PR stunt to radicalize more Greek citizens.