In January 1999 it was announced that a 35-hour working week would be introduced at Intracom, Greece's leading telecommunications and information technology company.
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In January 1999 it was announced that a 35-hour working week would be introduced at Intracom, Greece's leading telecommunications and information technology company.
On 22 January 1999 the president of the Intracom telecommunications and information technology company, S Kokkalis, announced to the company's employees that a 35-hour working week without a reduction in pay will be introduced during the first half of 1999. Weekly working hours currently stand at 37.5 at Intracom.
A 35-hour week without loss of pay has long been one of the demands of the trade union representing Intracom employees. In 1997, when the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) called for implementation of the 35-hour week (GR9704110F), the union officially demanded that company management introduce reduced working time without loss of pay. In this framework, the executive board of the union welcomed the January announcement by Intracom, pointing out that it meets a longstanding union demand and highlighting the fact that this is yet another area where this company is playing a leading role.
The union states that no relevant assessment has yet been made of potential new job creation resulting from the reduction of working time from 37.5 to 35 hours a week. However, the union points out that in mid-1997 company management spoke about the creation of 1,500 new jobs in the coming five years, though without making a connection with the reduction of working time. Nevertheless, alongside the introduction of the 35-hour week, the president of Intracom also spoke of creating two important new units, one in the Peloponnese and one in northern Greece, and new jobs may well result from these planned new investments.
The union says that it has not been informed of the precise methods by which the 35-hour week will be implemented. The union will not give its opinion until the final announcement, probably in early March 1998, of the details of implementation.
The announcement of the 35-hour week at Intracom was received with positive comments both from the government and from trade unions and employers' organisations. The Minister of Labour stressed that the government encourages such initiatives, but indicated that he did not intend to push forward legislation to generalise such working time reductions. The chair of GSEE issued a statement calling on all employers to proceed to similar agreements. The Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) has taken a positive view of the Intracom initiative, insofar as it demonstrates companies' freedom to decide on employment conditions. However, it pointed out that the initiative of one highly competitive company does not eliminate the opposition of private sector employers' organisations to implementation of the 35-hour week.
Greece's first collective agreement on the 35-hour week was signed in 1998 at the Hochtief construction company (GR9810197N).
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Intracom announces 35-hour week, article.
